


There's No Place Like Hawkins

by dont_lose_ur_head



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 70
Words: 121,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_lose_ur_head/pseuds/dont_lose_ur_head
Summary: "That's the beauty of Hawkins... we're always in mortal danger."Catherine Henderson, older sister to Dustin Henderson, falls for her ex best friend whilst fighting monsters from another dimension.{originally published on wattpad}
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 16





	1. MIXTAPES

**Catherine Henderson's Mixtapes**

****

**_TAPE 1, SIDE A:_ **

**the love songs**

_*You Matter To Me/ Waitress Cast_

_*Burn/ Hamilton Cast_

_*A Soft Place To Land/ Waitress Cast_

_*(I've Had) The Time Of My Life/ Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes_

_*If I Could Tell Her/ Dear Evan Hansen Cast_

_*Breaking Free/ High School Musical Cast_

_*It Only Takes A Taste/ Waitress Cast_

_*Bad Idea/ Waitress Cast_

_*Let Her Go/ Passenger_

_*Loyal/ Paloma Faith_

_*Somewhere Only We Know/ Keane_

_*Love Story/ Taylor Swift_

_*When He Sees Me/ Waitress Cast_

_*Tightrope/ Michelle Williams_

_*Something That I Want/ Grace Potter_

_*There's A Fine, Fine Line/ Avenue Q Cast_

_*Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You/ Jersey Boys_

_*Hopelessly Devoted To You/ Olivia Newton-John_

_*Hold Back The River/ James Bay_

_*Mix Tape/ Avenue Q Cast_

_*Come What May/ Moulin Rouge Cast_

_*Waterloo/ ABBA_

_*Lava/ from the Disney short_

_*I Won't Say (I'm In Love)/ Carrie Hope Fletcher_

_*Little Fall Of Rain/ Eddie Redmayne & Samantha Barks_

_*On My Own/ Carrie Hope Fletcher_

_*You Make My Dreams Come True/ Daryl Hall & John Oates_

_*Let's Hear It For The Boy/ Deniece Williams_

_*Mamma Mia/ Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn & Alexa Davies_

_*Heart Of Stone/ Natalie Paris_

_*The More You Ruv Someone/ Avenue Q Cast_

_*Wouldn't It Be Loverly/ Julie Andrews_

_*Super Trouper/ ABBA_

_*I Can Hear The Bells/ Hairspray Cast_

_*Crazy Little Thing Called Love/ Queen_

_*Every Breath You Take/ The Police_

_*All Of This/ The Naked And Famous_

_*Happy Together/ The Turtles_

_*A Million Dreams/ The Greatest Showman Cast_

_*Time After Time/ Cyndi Lauper_

_*Ruby/ Kaiser Chiefs_

_*Should I Stay Or Should I Go/ The Clash_

_*Heroes/ David Bowie_

_*Human/ Christina Perri_

_*City Of Stars/ La La Land Cast_

_*Granger Danger/ Starkid_

_*Don't You Forget About Me/ Simple Minds_

_*Up Where We Belong/ Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes_

_*Somebody To Love/ Queen_

_*Seventeen/ Carrie Hope Fletcher & Jamie Muscato_

_*You're The One That I Want/ Grease Cast_

_*Anything Goes/ John Barrowman_

_*To Die For/ Sam Smith_

_*Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)/ Beyoncé_

_*Lay All Your Love On Me/ Mamma Mia Cast_

_*God Only Knows/ The Beach Boys_

_*Beauty And The Beast/ Emma Thompson_

_*When The World's At Stake/ Starkid_

_*Marry You/ Bruno Mars_

_*So This Is Love/ Ilene Woods_

_*Thinking Out Loud/ Ed Sheeran_

_*Chasing Cars/ Snow Patrol_

_*Think Of Me/ The Phantom Of The Opera Cast_

_*Sixteen Going On Seventeen/ The Sound Of Music Cast_

_*Under Attack/ ABBA_

_*Pick Me Up/ Vicki Manser_

_*Honey, Honey/ Mamma Mia Cast_

_*I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)/ Bat Out Of Hell Cast_

_*Fix You/ Coldplay_

_*Monster/ Dodie_

_*A Sky Full Of Stars/ Coldplay_

_*Slow Dance In A Parking Lot/ Jordan Davis_

_*Wishing for the Normal/ Soho Cinders Cast_

**_TAPE 1, SIDE B:_ **

**the adventure and battle songs**

_*Belle (Reprise)/ Emma Watson_

_* Kill Of The Night/ Gin Wigmore_

_*Totally Fucked/ Spring Awakening Cast_

_*Don't Rain On My Parade/ Barbra Streisand_

_*Do You Hear The People Sing/ Les Misérables Cast_

_*I'm Still Standing/ Elton John_

_*It's My Life/ Bon Jovi_

_*Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)/ Hamilton Cast_

_*Beat It/ Michael Jackson_

_*I Will Survive/ Gloria Gaynor_

_*We Didn't Start The Fire/ Billy Joel_

_*Say Amen (Saturday Night)/ Panic At The Disco_

_*Could Have Been Me/ The Struts_

_*Saturday Night/ Bay City Rollers_

_*Téir Abhaile Riu/ Celtic Woman_

_*Kids In America/ Kim Wilde_

_*Stayin' Alive/ Bee Gees_

_*Naughty/ Matilda The Musical Cast_

_*Soldier, Poet, King/ The Oh Hellos_

**_TAPE 2, SIDE A:_ **

**the fighting the flayed and being possessed by the mind flayer songs**

_*The Squip Song/ Be More Chill Cast_

_*The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals/ Starkid_

_*La Dee Dah Dah Day/ Starkid_

_*Cup Of Poisoned Coffee/ Starkid_

_*Join Us (And Die)/ Starkid_

_*Not Your Seed/ Starkid_

_*Show Stopping Number/ Starkid_

_*Say My Name/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*The Whole Being Dead Thing/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Fright Of Their Lives/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*What I Know Now/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Another Terrible Day/ George Salazar_

_*We Both Reached For The Gun/ Chicago Cast_

_*Inevitable/ Starkid_

**_TAPE 2, SIDE B:_ **

**the crying alone in my bedroom songs**

_*Burn/ Hamilton Cast_

_*Quiet/ Matilda The Musical Cast_

_*Requiem/ Dear Evan Hansen Cast_

_*She Used To Be Mine/ Jessie Mueller_

_*Children Will Listen// Not While I'm Around/ Josh Groban_

_*Tomorrow/ Annie The Musical Cast_

_*Hopelessly Devoted To You/ Olivia Newton John_

_*Monster/ Dodie_

_*My House/ Matilda The Musical Cast_

_*Michael In The Bathroom/ George Salazar_

_*On My Own/ Carrie Hope Fletcher_

_*Take It From An Old Man/ Waitress Cast_

_*Lifeboat/ Sophie Isaacs_

_*American Pie/ Don McLean_

_*If I Were A Boy/ Beyoncé_

_*I'd Rather Be Me/ Barrett Wilbert Weed_

_*Shine A Light (Reprise)/ Heathers The Musical {West End} Cast_

_*Dead Mom/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Vincent/ Don McLean_

_*The Place Where Lost Things Go/ Emily Blunt_

_*I'm Breaking Down/ Stephanie J. Block_

_*Invisible (Reprise)// On The Roof/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*My Favourite Things/ Julie Andrews_

_*Me And The Sky/ Come From Away Cast_

_*Fix You/ Coldplay_

**_TAPE 3, SIDE A:_ **

**the halloween party songs**

_*Fame/ Irene Cara_

_*We Built This City/ Starship_

_*Material Girl/ Madonna_

_*Goody Two Shoes/ Adam Ant_

_*What A Feeling/ Irene Cara_

_*Girls Just Want To Have Fun/ Cyndi Lauper_

_*Harlem/ New Politics_

_*Halloween/ Be More Chill Cast_

_*Breakfast At Tiffany's/ Deep Blue Something_

_*Kids In America/ Kim Wilde_

_*Clocks/ Coldplay_

_*Hymn For The Weekend/ Coldplay_

_*Viva La Vida/ Coldplay_

_*Adventure Of A Lifetime/ Coldplay_

_*Charlie Brown/ Coldplay_

_*Somebody Told Me/ The Killers_

**_TAPE 3, SIDE B:_ **

**the songs written for musicals**

_*Freak Flag/ Shrek The Musical_

_*You're Welcome/ Heathers The Musical {West End} Cast_

_*Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now/ Hairspray Cast_

_*Revenge Party/ Mean Girls The Musical Cast_

_*Beautiful/ Heathers The Musical {West End] Cast_

_*For Now/ Avenue Q Cast_

_*Naughty/ Matilda The Musical Cast_

_*Wait For It/ Hamilton Cast_

_*Mother Knows Best/ Tangled_

_*Cup Of Roasted Coffee/ Starkid_

_*Show Yourself/ Idina Menzel_

_*Into The Unknown/ Idina Menzel_

_*Ready Set, Not Yet/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Barbara 2.0/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Ready Set (Reprise)/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*No Reason/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)/ Beetlejuice Cast_

_*Put On Your Sunday Clothes/ Hello, Dolly Cast_

_*Welcome To The Rock/ Come From Away Cast_


	2. CAST

**Cast:**

Saoirse Ronan as Catherine Henderson

_-the one who fell in love with the popular guy-_

__

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

_-the one who realised that being popular wasn't as good as everyone thought it was-_

__

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

_-the ones who formed the party-_

__

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

_-the one with the cool powers-_

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

_-the one who dated the popular guy-_

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

_-the one who loved photography-_

__

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers and David Harbour as Chief Hopper

_-the ones who never stop caring for the kids-_


	3. ONE; The Vanishing Of Will Byers

_November 6th, 1983_

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Catherine Henderson was sat in the basement of the Wheeler's house, watching her brother, Dustin, and his friends play their game of Dungeons and Dragons.

"Something is coming." Mike, the younger brother of Nancy Wheeler (who was one of Catherine's best friends) said, leading the game. "Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here."

Catherine's attention turned back to her book, barely listening to the younger boys. She would be hanging out with Nancy while she waited for her brother but Nancy was too busy talking to their other best friend Barbara over the phone. She wasn't too bothered, she'd be filled in on the conversation the next day and she didn't mind sitting with the boys.

"What is it?" Will Byers asked, the younger brother of one of Catherine's other best friends- Jonathan Byers.

"What if it's the Demogorgon?" Dustin suggested.

"The what?" Catherine asked, lifting her head from her book.

The boys ignored her.

"Oh, Jesus, we're so screwed if it's the Demogorgon." Dustin added.

"It's not the Demogorgon." Lucas told him.

"An army of Troglodytes charge into the chamber!" Mike yelled suddenly, placing something on the board.

Catherine sighed, not understanding a word of what she was hearing, even though she had sat through their games before, and decided to bury herself into her book again.

"Troglodytes?" Dustin questioned.

"Told ya." Lucas chuckled, smug as he had been right about the monster not being a Demogorgon.

The boys chuckle for a moment before Mike whispers, "wait a minute." Catherine looked up from her book for a moment when Mike asked, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Catherine asked, unsure whether or not this mysterious sound was apart of the game.

"That... that sound? Boom... boom..." Catherine rolled her eyes, focusing back on her book just as Mike yelled "Boom!" and slammed his hands on the table. "That didn't come from the Troglodytes. No, that... That came from something else."

The boys all looked at Mike expectantly before he slammed a figure onto the table and exclaimed, "The Demogorgon!" Catherine heard Dustin, Will and Lucas collectively groan in annoyance.

"We're in deep shit." Dustin pointed out.

"Language!" Catherine reminded her brother, although hers was a lot worse, who sent her a glare.

"Will, your action!" Mike yelled.

"I don't know!"

"Fireball him!" Lucas suggested.

"I'd have to roll a 13 or higher!" Will pointed out to him.

"Too risky. Cast a protection spell." Dustin suggested.

"Don't be a pussy. Fireball him."

"Cast Protection."

Mike slammed his hands down onto the table. "The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering!"

"I'm tired of you're bickering too." Catherine muttered. "But at least the whatever it is isn't real and gets a break from hearing your voices."

"It stomps towards you." Mike continued. "Boom!"

"Fireball him Will!" Lucas yelled.

"Another stomp, boom!"

"Cast Protection." Dustin yelled.

"He roars in anger!"

Everyone started yelling over each other, trying to tell Will what to do.

"Would you all shut up!" Catherine yelled just as Will yelled, "Fireball!" and rolled the die which rolled off the table and onto the floor.

"Oh, shit!" Mike exclaimed as they all stood up to look for the die.

"Where'd it go?" Lucas asked as they began to search on the floor. "Where is it?"

Catherine sat back on the couch, content now that they'd finally stopped yelling.

"I don't know!" Will answered Lucas's question.

"Henderson, help us look for it!" Lucas yelled at the eldest Henderson.

"Nope. I wasn't playing and therefore I don't have to help you."

"Kit, please help us." Dustin begged, using his nickname for his sister. "Please, please help us look for it."

Cat sat up in her seat and checked if the die was by her feet. It wasn't. "There, I've looked and I can't see it anywhere near me. You're welcome."

"Is it a 13?" Dustin turned away from his sister to help his friends.

"I don't know!" Will replied.

"Where is it?" Lucas asked again.

"Oh, my God!" Dustin repeated over and over again while he paced the floor of the basement.

"It's just a dice." Cat yelled at them. "You're panicking over nothing."

"Nothing?! This isn't nothing, Henderson." Lucas yelled at her. "It's a life or death situation."

"It really isn't, Sinclair." Cat yelled back, just as Mrs. Wheeler yelled Mike's name from upstairs.

The boys continued panicking while Mrs. Wheeler opened the door to the basement. "Mike!" She called and Mike looked up at her from where he was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom, we're in the middle of a campaign!" He told her.

"You mean the end? Fifteen after." Mrs Wheeler told him, pointing to the watch on her wrist before walking away from the basement, Mike running up the stairs behind her.

"Oh, my God! Freaking idiot!" Lucas yelled.

Cat rolled her eyes.

"Why do we have to go?" Will questioned.

Not that long after Mike had disappeared upstairs, Will announced that he found the die.

"Finally! Does this mean we can leave now?" Cat cried out, falling backwards onto the couch, watching her brother put his jacket on.

"No!" Lucas yelled at her, to which she just rolled her eyes.

"Does the seven count?" Will asked Lucas.

"It was a seven? Did Mike see it?" Will shook his head. "Then it doesn't count."

"I believe that's called cheating," Cat stated, still making no effort to put her book in her bag or grab her jacket.

"No one asked you, Henderson." Lucas snapped at her.

The boys put their coats on and grabbed their bags and started heading up the stairs when Dustin picked up the pizza box, seeing that there was a couple of slices left.

"Yo, hey, guys." Dustin called to them and Will and Lucas stopped on the stairs for a moment. "Does anyone want this?"

"No." they both responded, hurrying up the stairs.

Dustin turned to Cat who had just finished zipping up her backpack and had started putting her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. "You want this, Kit?" He asked, shoving the pizza box towards her.

"Yeah, no. Not hungry. Just leave it here or throw it in the trash. Whatever. Let's just go." She finished putting her jacket on and started to walk up the stairs, Dustin following behind her.

Cat headed outside while Dustin offered the last slices of pizza to Nancy. Cat was just climbing onto her bike when Dustin walked out of the Wheeler's house.

"There's something wrong with your sister." He informed Mike who was standing outside while the others got their bikes.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's got a stick up her butt." Dustin explained.

"Yeah." Lucas agreed. "It's because she's been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington."

Cat couldn't help but nod in agreement. Ever since Nancy had started dating Steve Harrington, the most popular guy in school, she barely spoke about anything other than Steve.

Steve Harrington used to be her best friend up until he dumped for popularity and unfortunately was the guy that Catherine was totally head-over-heels for, not that she would ever admit it to anyone. Except maybe two of her best friends, Jonathan Byers and Barbara Holland who realised that she had a crush on the most popular guy in school even before she realised it herself.

"Yeah," agreed Dustin. "She's turning into a real jerk."

"She's always been a real jerk." Mike argued.

"No. She used to actually talk to me about things other than her boyfriend." Cat informed them.

"Exactly. She used to be cool." Dustin added. "Like that time she and Kit dressed up as elves for our Elder tree campaign."

"I told you never to speak of that again." Cat muttered as she started to cycle to the end of the Wheeler's driveway.

"That was four years ago!" Mike called out as the boys started to follow Cat down the drive.

"Just saying." Dustin called back as he cycled after his sister, who was cycling quite fast down the road.

"Later." Lucas called back as he started to make his way home.

***

The three boys and Cat had been cycling for a short while before they approached Lucas' house.

"Good night, ladies. And older Henderson." He called, starting to turn into his driveway.

"Kiss your mom 'night for me." Dustin called to him as they continued to cycle down the road. "Race you back to mine and Cat's place?" He asked Will. "Winner gets a comic."

"Any comic?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Dustin confirmed and the two boys began racing on their bikes down the street.

"You know I could just buy you both one?" Cat called to them, but she didn't get an answer and she began cycling faster to catch up to the two boys she was meant to be looking after.

She cycled as fast as she could down the hill, catching up to Will who was winning the race.

"You sure you don't want me to cycle with you to make sure you get home safely?" She asked him, slightly out of breath from the cycling.

"No thanks, Cat. I think I'll be fine."

Cat nodded. "Okay then. Be safe." She called out to him as she stopped her bike next to her family's mailbox.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	4. TWO; The Vanishing Of Will Byers

The next morning Cat woke up with a bad feeling. She ignored it and threw on a black and white stripped t-shirt and a pair of overalls that had hundreds of paint stains on them. She ran out of her room and into the bathroom, shoving Dustin out of the way. Grabbing her toothbrush, she hurriedly squeezed toothpaste on it before shoving it in her mouth to brush her teeth. As she started brushing her teeth, she ran back out of the bathroom and ran down the stairs to the phone, not seeing her brother's confused face. She grabbed the phone off the wall and dialled, pacing back and forth while she waited for the other end to pick up. After a couple of rings, the person at the other end of the phone picked up.

"Jonathan!" Cat greeted her friend down the phone, although you could barely make out what she was saying as her toothbrush was still in her mouth.

"Hey, Cat. What's up? That is you, right?"

Cat ran over to the sink to spit the toothpaste out of her mouth, phone still in hand before she answered. "Yes, it is me. Sorry." She placed her toothbrush next to the sink and begun to run the tap. "For the record, I was brushing my teeth. Also," She stopped running the tap and picked an apple from the fruit bowl, taking a bite from it. "Am I cycling to yours this morning?"

"Yeah sure. I'll give you a lift to school from mine, like usual."

"Sweet. I'll see you soon Byers."

"See you soon, Henderson."

Cat hung up the phone, took another couple of bites from her apple before throwing it in the trash and running back upstairs to her room so she could get her shoes. She grabbed her trainers, shoving her feet into them as quickly as she possibly could before running back out of her room, calling out a goodbye to Dustin and her mom and leaving her house. She shut the front door behind her and hopped onto her bike before racing down the street to the Byers's house, taking no notice of the porch lights flickering on and off.

***

Roughly fifteen minutes later Cat reached the Byers' house and hopped off her bike, leaning it against the wall next to the door. Her fingers pushed the doorbell, signalling her arrival.

"Its open," called a voice from inside the house, which Catherine recognised as Jonathan's. She pushed open the door and saw her friend standing in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

"Well that smells nice. What 'cha making?"

Jonathan turned around and smiled at his friend who had perched herself on the kitchen counter next to the back door. He was about to reply when Joyce Byers' voice rang through the house.

"Where the hell are they?"

Cat looked at Jonathan in confusion. "Keys." He simply said and Cat nodded her head in understanding.

"Jonathan?" Joyce called out from the living room.

"Check the couch!" He suggested.

"Ugh, I did." It was silent for a moment before Joyce announced that she'd found her keys. She walked into the kitchen as Jonathan started dishing up the breakfast he made.

"Hi Mrs. Byers." Cat greeted.

"Oh, hi Catherine. I didn't hear you enter the house." Joyce walked over to the teen and gave her a hug. "And call me Joyce. You practically live here anyway, might as well call me 'mom'."

Cat let out a short laugh as Joyce picked her bag up from the table.

"Okay, sweetie, I will see you tonight." She said to Jonathan. "And I'll probably see you tomorrow morning." She said to Cat.

"Yeah, see you later."

Joyce went to leave but stopped, realising that Will wasn't in the kitchen. "Where's Will?"

"Oh, I didn't get him up yet." He turned around to face Joyce. "He's probably still sleeping."

Joyce sighed. "Jonathan, you have to make sure he's up!"

"Mom, I'm making breakfast."

Joyce walked off down the hall towards Will's room. "I told you this a thousand times." Cat heard Joyce say, "Will! Come on, honey. It's time to get up."

"I think it was pretty late when they left last night so he's probably still really tired. I think Dustin was, although I didn't really see him before I rushed out of the house this morning." Cat said to Jonathan.

Joyce walked back down the hall to the kitchen. "He came home last night, right?"

"He's not in his room?" Jonathan asked.

"Did he come home or not?" Joyce asked her son.

"I don't know." He replied, placing the plates on the table.

"You don't know?"

"No." Jonathan stammered. "I got home late. I was working."

"You were working?"

"Eric asked if I could cover. I said yeah. I just thought we could use the extra cash."

"Jonathan, we've talked about this." Joyce said to him.

"I know, I know."

"You should have called me. I wouldn't have minded babysitting him until you guys got back." Cat spoke.

"You can't take shifts when I'm working." Joyce told her son. "Or at least ring Catherine and ask her to babysit. She wouldn't mind."

"I really don't mind looking after Will. Or any of that lot." Cat added.

"Mom, it's not a big deal. Look, he was at the Wheeler's all day. I'm sure he stayed over."

Both looked over to Catherine who was still sat on their kitchen counter. "He didn't stay over. Not to my knowledge anyway. I cycled with them all home. I even asked Will if he wanted me to cycle back with him to make sure he was okay. He didn't want me to, said he would be fine. But maybe he came back here and grabbed some stuff and headed back to the Wheeler's for the night." She shrugged. "I didn't see his bike outside this morning."

Joyce sighed. "I can't believe you." She walked over to the phone and dialled the number for the Wheeler household.

Cat had another thought. "Or maybe he left extra early this morning and that's why I didn't see his bike out front." Jonathan shrugged as Joyce started speaking into the phone.

"Hi, Karen. It's Joyce." There was silence for a moment as Karen Wheeler spoke on the other end of the phone. "Was that Will I heard back there?" She asked. "Will didn't spend the night?" She was starting to sound worried. Cat shared a look with Jonathan as if to say 'I told you so'. "Um, you know what? I think he just left early for... for school." Catherine threw her hands up in the air as she whispered to Jonathan, "That's exactly what I suggested." Joyce thanked Karen and hung up the phone. She looked really worried.

"I'm really sorry Joyce." Cat hopped off the counter and walked over to Joyce to give her a hug. "If I'd just have followed him back here, you would know where he is."

Joyce wrapped her arms around the teenager, "It's okay. We'll find him. It isn't your fault."

Cat pulled away from the hug and looked at the clock. "Shit. I've got to go. Jonathan, are you still able to give me a lift today? I mean I could always cycle to school today. Or... or I could stay and help you look for Will?"

"You get to school dear." Joyce told her. "I'm sure if Jonathan drove you you'd get there in time."

Jonathan grabbed his car keys and headed outside to his car, telling his mum that he'd be back soon.

"I'll come by after school. I'm sure Will's fine. He's got to be." Catherine gave Joyce one more hug before rushing outside and jumping into the passenger seat next to Jonathan.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	5. THREE; The Vanishing Of Will Byers

Jonathan's car pulled up next to Hawkins' High School. "Thanks for the lift Jonathan." Catherine said as she grabbed her bag from between her feet.

"No problem Cat. Do you want me to give you a lift after school since you left your bike at mine?"

Cat opened the door. "Sure. But I'll call you if something comes up, okay." She climbed out the car and leaned on the door for a second. "See you later Byers."

"See you later Henderson." Cat shut the car door and waved as Jonathan drove away. As she turned around, she spotted Nancy heading into the school building.

"Hey, Wheeler!" She called, shoving past people in order to reach the girl. "Oi, Nancy. Wait up."

Nancy finally heard her and stopped walking, turning around to face Cat.

"Oh, hey Catherine. I didn't see you."

"Or hear me, apparently. And I told you, I hate being called Catherine. The name sucks. Cat is much cooler."

Before the two could talk anymore and actually catch up on life, Barbara fell in line with the two of them, walking next to Nancy. "So, did he call?"

"Did who call?" Cat asked them, not understanding.

"Steve. And keep your voice down, Barb." Cat rolled her eyes. Of course it would be Steve they were talking about. _When were they not talking about Nancy's significant other, Catherine's ex-best friend and secret crush?_

"Did he?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah, Nancy, did your pretty little boyfriend call?" Cat asked, clearly mocking the girl.

"I told you, it's not like that." Barbara gave Nancy a look. "Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that."

"Then like what? How does he like you if it's not 'like that'?" Cat asked. "I've seen him look at you and it's very clear how much he likes you."

The three girls approached Nancy's locker. "We just... made out a couple times." Nancy told the two other girls as she opened her locker. Catherine leaned on the locker next to Nancy's, watching her friends.

"'We just... made out a couple times.'" Barbara mocked Nancy in a dreamy voice. "Nance, seriously, you're gonna be so cool now, it's ridiculous."

"No, I'm not."

"You are. You totally are, Wheeler." Cat told her, looking completely bored as she leaned on her locker.

"You better still hang out with me and Cat, that's all I'm saying."

"Yeah. I don't want to be anymore lonely than I already am." Cat added.

"If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol-"

Nancy cut Barbara off. "Oh, that's gross. Okay, I'm telling you, it was a one-time..." Both Barbara and Catherine raised their eyebrows at Nancy. "Two-time thing." Cat watched as Nancy pulled a note out of her locker.

"What's that you got there, Wheeler?"

Both Barbara and Cat read the note over Nancy's shoulder. Something about her meeting Steve in the girl's bathroom.

"You were saying?" Barbara said, smiling at Nancy.

Catherine excused herself from the two girls. "I've got to go. See you two later." She couldn't help it, she couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that was bubbling up inside her. She hated it. She hated how jealous she was because Nancy got to date Steve Harrington, the guy Cat had been practically in love with since they started high school (even if he did dump her for popularity). It was ridiculous. Nancy was getting a better status while Cat was still being picked on and bullied by everyone else except Jonathan and Barbara and Nancy. Hell, even though Steve barely noticed her existence anymore, even if he didn't pick on her like his friends did. He didn't exactly stop them either.

Cat pushed her way through the students to a bathroom on the opposite side of the school. As soon as she reached the door she shoved it open and ran into the nearest vacant stall and hurled the contents of her stomach, which was really just the apple she had for breakfast and the small amount of pizza she ate the previous night in the Wheeler's basement, down the toilet. She grabbed some of the toilet paper and used it to wipe her mouth before throwing into the toilet and flushing. She didn't leave after that, she sat there with her head in her hands for a while, not realising that she had missed first period until the bell rang. But there was a part of her that didn't care, because it wasn't like anyone was actually going to notice she was gone.

***

The rest of the day went by and Catherine wasn't in any of her classes. And she was right. No one noticed she wasn't there, not even when the teacher called out her name on the register. Cat had left the school building during the five minutes between first and second period. For a while she stood outside next to the phone, searching through her pockets for some change. When she found the amount she needed she inserted it into the machine and dialled the number for the Byers. Jonathan had been the one to pick up the phone and Cat told him that she'd be fine getting herself home and that she didn't need him to come pick her up later., convincing him that it would be better for him to go looking for Will.

After she ended the phone call, she snuck around to the side of the gym and sat on the ground with her back against the wall. She pulled out the pack of cigarettes from her bag, selected one and placed it between her lips. She shoved the rest of them back into her bag and pulled out her lighter, lighting her cigarette. She sat there for an hour or two, smoking as she watched people pass her, taking no notice of the girl. At some point she got bored and decided she'd be better off at home. She was pissed that neither Nancy or Barbara had tried to find her and see if she was okay.

As soon as she reached her house, she climbed up to her window and snuck into her house because her mom's car was still in the driveway and she didn't want to be caught bunking off of school.

***

Hours later after Dustin got home, Lucas arrived, demanding that the two of them go with him to meet Mike so they could look for Will.

Dustin dragged her outside with him and she watched as he got on his bike.

"Aren't you coming, Henderson?" Lucas asked her.

"Do you see my bike here?" The two boys shook their heads. "That's because I rode it to the Byers' this morning and it's still there."

"So?"

"So, Sinclair, I unfortunately can't help you look for Will, as much as I'd love to help you guys. I can't."

"Don't you have another bike?" Dustin asked her.

"What?"

"Your old bike. From like two years ago. You still have that, right?"

"Maybe?"

"So, go get it then!" Lucas snapped at the older girl.

"Alright, alright. I'll go get it. Jeez." Cat snuck around the back of her house to the shed where her old bike was. She eventually managed to unlock the doors and pull her bike out without having everything in the shed fall and crush her. She locked the shed and wheeled her bike back round to the front of the house to see the two boys ready to go.

"Come on Henderson. We don't have all night to wait for you." Lucas snapped at her.

"Alright. Alright." Catherine hopped onto her old bike. "I'm guessing I don't have time to grab a jumper?"

"No!" Both boys yelled back at her, already cycling down the driveway.

"Fine. I'll just freeze." Cat sighed, cycling after them to go meet up with Will.

***

"Ah, man. This is it." Lucas said as they cycled down the hill.

They came to a stop at the edge of the woods where there was some police tape strung between the trees. Cat sighed. "You three stay close. Okay? I'm not having anymore of you kids going missing. Not while I'm around. You got it?" They all nodded. "Especially you Dustin. Mom would kill me."

"Hey, guys. You feel that?" Dustin asked them as thunder rumbled in the distance. "I think maybe we should go back."

"No." Mike said, determined to find their friend. "We're not going back. Just stay close, like Cat said. Come on." He parked his bike before starting to walk through the forest and the rest followed, leaving their bikes behind.

"Hey, Mike." Cat called out to him after a few minutes. "Did Nancy have any plans tonight? It's just, she rarely hangs out with me outside school anymore."

"Um, all I know was that I saw Steve climbing through her window when I left."

Catherine let out a sigh.

"Do you have a crush on him, or something?" Lucas asked her. She rolled her eyes.

"Kit's like totally in love with him."

"I'm gonna kill you Dustin."

"You're in love with Steve Harrington? He's an asshole."

"I know, I know. Dustin, you are so dead for telling them. That was a secret."

"How was I meant to know it was a secret?!"

The two siblings began to bicker as the group walked further into the forest.

***

It had now begun to rain a lot harder as the thunder got louder and Catherine was cursing herself for not bringing a coat.

"Will!" Mike called out, hoping to find their friend.

"Will!" Catherine called out, although her voice was shaking from how cold she was.

"Byers!" Lucas called out.

The group continued yelling out for their friend as they walked through the trees. They still hadn't had any luck finding him though and it was beginning to make Cat worry even more than she already was.

"Guys, I really think we should turn back." Dustin told them.

"I agree. It's not safe out here." Cat agreed, wrapping her arms around herself in hopes that she would be slightly less cold. She wasn't.

"Seriously, Dustin? Catherine?" Lucas questioned them, annoyed they were already willing to give up their search. "You wanna be a baby, then go home already!"

Cat scowled at him for using her full first name instead of her preferred nickname.

"We're just being realistic, Lucas!" Dustin yelled back.

"No, you're just being a big sissy!"

"Do you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad?" Dustin asked them.

"Don't say that. God, please, just don't suggest that." Catherine pleaded, hoping that wasn't the case and he was just seriously lost. She didn't think she could live with her herself if something seriously bad had happened to him. _If only she'd just insisted to walk him all the way home..._

"And we're going to the exact same spot where he was last seen?" Dustin continued.

"This is a bad idea." Cat grabbed Lucas's arm, turning around to go back to their bikes.

"Henderson, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm taking you guys back. And you're all going to go home." She ran a hand through her sopping wet hair. "I knew this was a bad idea. God, why didn't I stop you three? Why didn't I just cycle home with Will and made sure he got home alright? Ugh, this is all my fault, this is all my fault."

It was then that the boys realised that the older girl had no rain coat or jumper on and that she was walking with them in overalls and a short sleeved t-shirt.

"Shit! How are you not dead yet?" Lucas asked her.

"Uh, that's nice?" Catherine replied, confused.

"No, what he means is how the fuck are you not wearing a coat, or a jumper?" Dustin asked her.

"Well, you two wouldn't allow me two seconds to get one, remember? And was I supposed to know there was gonna be a fucking storm?"

The boys shrugged.

"Now, are we going back, or what?"

She got her answer when the boys continued to walk forwards to where Will was last seen.

"May I remind you that we have no weapons, or anything. At all." Dustin pointed out.

"Dustin, shut up." Mike said to the curly haired boy.

"I'm just saying, does that seem smart to you?"

"He's... he's got a point." Catherine managed to stutter out.

"Shut up. Shut up." The group finally shut up and heard a rustling noise coming from somewhere nearby. "Do you guys hear that?" More rustling was heard and the group quickly pointed their torches at the trees. Cat stood in front of the boys to make sure whatever was near them couldn't harm them. There was more rustling and the group turned to their right to see a girl stood in a long, drenched t-shirt, staring at them in fear.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	6. FOUR; The Weirdo On Maple Street

The group had taken the girl they had found to the Wheeler's house where they were all sat in the basement. The boys and Catherine were standing in front of the couch, watching the mysterious girl who sat there staring up at them in fear, now wearing one of Mike's coats. Catherine shivered as she pulled the blanket that was wrapped around her closer to her shoulders.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked the girl.

"Where's your hair?" Dustin asked her, confused as to why her hair was buzzed. "Do you have cancer?" Catherine hit his arm.

"You can't just ask people that dude." She scolded.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked her.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Mike asked.

"Is that blood?" Lucas asked, pointing at the girl's shirt.

"Stop it! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!"

"Shut up! All of you!" Catherine shoved them away from the frightened girl. "You're all scaring her." Catherine knelt down in front of her. "Hey, sweetie." Cat smiled softly at the girl. "My name's Catherine, or you can call me Cat for short." She received a small smile from the girl in response. "Now, I know you're scared. But we aren't going to hurt you. We just want to help you. Okay?" The girl nodded slightly, beginning to feel like she could trust the older girl. "Now, I bet you're cold." Catherine turned to Mike. "Do you have any spare clothes." He nodded, not getting at what the teen was doing. Cat let out a sigh. "Well, go get them then." Mike quickly walked over to the basket full of clean laundry and grabbed a jumper and a pair of sweatpants before handing them to Cat who gently handed them to the quiet girl sat in front of her. "Here you go, sweetie. These will keep you warm. You wanna go put them on?" The older girl slowly reached out a hand to which the younger girl hesitantly took. Catherine stood up from her kneeling position on the floor, gently pulling the younger girl with her. The quiet girl took of the jacket she had borrowed and followed the older girl to the bathroom. "You can get changed in here, okay?" The girl frowned, slightly confused. "It's called privacy, okay?" Catherine went to close the door but was suddenly stopped as the small girl grabbed the door. "You don't want me to close the door?" The girl let out a quiet 'no' and Catherine heard one of the boys say, 'so she can speak' from behind her. "Okay. Well how about I close it, just not all the way so it's still technically open?" Catherine said, her actions mimicking her words. "Is that better, sweetie?"

"Yes."

Catherine gave her a smile. "I'll just be outside if you need me." She turned back to the boys just as Dustin exclaimed, "this is mental."

"At least she can talk." Mike pointed out.

"She said 'no' and 'yes'." Lucas interjected. "Your three-year old sister says more."

"Guys. Shut up. She's scared. She's not gonna want to talk to some strangers who found her in the woods." Catherine spoke up, picking the blanket that had previously been wrapped around her shoulders from the floor and starting to fold it, no longer caring how cold she was.

"There's something seriously wrong with her." Lucas said to them, ignoring Catherine who just sighed and hoped that the girl wasn't listening to the boys' conversation. "Like, wrong in the head." Lucas pointed to his own head to make it clear to others what he meant. "I bet she escaped from Pennhurst."

"From where?" Mike asked.

"The nuthouse in Kerley County." Lucas explained.

"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin joked as Cat rolled her eyes.

"Bite me." Lucas snapped. "Seriously though, think about it."

"Think about what, Sinclair?" Catherine asked from where she stood leaning against the stairs.

"That would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy."

"She's not crazy. You're just being rude." Cat snapped at him, running her fingers through her damp hair.

Lucas ignored her. "She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho."

"Like Michael Myers." Dustin interjected.

"Exactly!" Lucas agreed. "We should've never brought her here."

"So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" Mike asked.

Catherine stepped closer to the boys. "It's probably safer for her to be here than it is for her to be alone out there." She argued at them, waving her arms around in frustration.

"We went to find Will, not another problem."

"I think we should tell your mom." Dustin told Mike.

"I second that." Lucas agreed as they all turned to Cat to see what she thought they should do.

"You should probably tell an adult about her so she can properly be safe. But knowing you guys, that's not gonna happen."

"That's crazy!" Mike exclaimed as Cat rolled her eyes, knowing she was right about them not listening to her.

"How is that crazy?" Lucas argued.

"'Cause, we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?"

Catherine lost it. "You went out when you weren't supposed?! Even after what happened to Will?! I can't believe you kids!" She hit each of them round the back of their heads before grabbing her backpack from the floor. "You're lucky I was with you." She sighed, extremely frustrated. "I'm going home." She started to leave the room. "I'll see you back at home Dustin. And I swear, if you kids get into anymore trouble, I'll kill you myself."

***

The next morning Catherine had cycled to school on her old bike, not wanting to bother Jonathan by asking for a lift. She walked down the halls of Hawkins' High School next to Barb who was reading Nancy's flashcards aloud to help them prepare for their upcoming test, which Cat knew she was going to fail as she hadn't revised at all the previous night. She had been too busy searching the forest for Will and then laying awake all night worrying about him.

"When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..." Barb prompted, reading off one of the revision cards

Catherine shrugged. "I have no idea."

"They become unoccupied space." Nancy answered correctly.

Barb nodded and read the next card. "A molecule that can-" She was cut off by Steve Harrington snatching the cards out of her hands, his two friends Tommy and Carol right behind him.

"Hey!" Nancy called out to him, trying to get the cards back.

"I don't know. I think you've studied enough, Nance." He replied, looking through the cards.

"Well I haven't, Harrington. So give them back." Catherine snapped, attempting to grab the cards out of the boy's hands but being shoved by Tommy in the process, causing her to stumble backwards into Barb and Nancy who barely caught her.

"Steve-" Nancy tried.

"I'm telling you, you know, you got this." Steve cut her off. "You too Henderson, you doubt yourself too much." Cat was taken aback by the words coming out of his mouth. Not only had _The_ Steve Harrington noticed her, but he also gave her a compliment. The teen tried to hide the small blush that covered her cheeks at the thought that she got a compliment from the boy. She'd be sure to gush about this moment to Barb over the phone later, maybe even tell her younger brother about the event too- not that he'd care. She barely caught the rest of what Steve was saying, she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he had talked to her directly, something he hadn't done in years.

"Now, on to more important matters." Cat raised an eyebrow at the boy. _What could be more important in this moment in time than going over notes for a test?_ "My dad has left town on a conference and my mom's gone with him, 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him."

"Good call." Tommy interjected. Cat rolled her eyes at the boy, wanting to just leave his presence right then and there. But she wouldn't leave unless either Barb or Nancy were, and it looked like neither of them were going anywhere just yet, so she stayed put.

"So are you in?" Steve asked Nancy.

"In for what?" She asked, confused.

"No parents? Big house?" Carol vaguely explained.

"A party?" Nancy guessed.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Carol said as Tommy laughed.

"It's Tuesday." Nancy pointed out.

"It's Tuesday!" Tommy mocked her and Cat had to stop herself from punching the boy in the face. Both Carol and Tommy began laughing.

"Come on" Steve said. "It'll be low key. It'll just be us." He tried to convince his girlfriend to come along to his party. "What do you say? Are you in or are you out?"

"Um..." Nancy trailed off, unsure of her answer.

"Oh, God. Look." Carol said, looking past Cat at someone at the end of the hall.

The group turned around to see Jonathan hanging a missing poster on the noticeboard.

"Oh, God, that's depressing." Catherine rolled her eyes at Steve, not believing how he could be so rude. Barb grabbed her arm, stopping her in case she decided to punch Steve in his pretty face.

"Should we say something?" Nancy asked the group.

"I don't think he speaks." Carol told her, disgust laced in her voice.

"How much you want to bet he killed him?" Tommy laughed.

Barb looked down at her friend to see her seething with anger. "Don't." She whispered softly, sensing that her friend was going to cause a fight.

Cat shook her head in anger, handing her books to Barb.

"What's wrong with you Henderson?" Tommy asked her. "You got something wrong with you or something?"

"Yeah. You." She stepped forward, ignoring Barb's warnings and punched Tommy in the face. She continued to punch the boy while she yelled at him. "You don't think for once that maybe, just maybe, what you say isn't at all funny and that maybe you're just a complete asshole." She stopped punching him for a second, having him pinned up against the wall. She was breathing heavily, not believing that she had just stood up to the guy that had endlessly bullied her for years. Tommy laughed in her face. "Wow, you're psycho. You're an absolute psycho." Cat pulled back her fist, ready to punch him again, when a hand wrapped around her waist pulling her away from the boy. Her mind barely registered that it was Steve Harrington who was the one to wrap an arm around her and pull her away from the boy everyone was certain she was going to end up killing. Catherine, still seething with anger, pulled herself out of Steve's grip, gave Tommy the finger, took her books back from Barb who sent her a small smile and stormed off down the hall, passing Nancy and Jonathan who were having their own small conversation. Steve called after her, "You're invited to my party too, Henderson."

Cat stormed out of the school and sat outside by her bike, bunking her chemistry test. She need to cool off and being in a silent room answering a test paper was not the way to do it. She could hear the announcement the school made through the speakers. _"At 8:00 p.m. tonight, there will be an assembly on the football field in support of Will Byers and his family. All are encouraged to attend. Volunteer sign-ups for search parties are still available in the office."_

After second period, Barb found her curled up on the gravel, still by her bike and convinced the girl to go to her other classes.

During lunch, the two girls sat together, away from Nancy, Steve, Carol and Tommy. Catherine couldn't help but cry as she told Barb about how guilty she felt for Will's disappearance and that if she had just rode her bike along with him, none of this would be happening and Will would be hanging out with her brother and the rest of their friends at school. Barb held the girl as she cried and Cat was really grateful for having a friend like Barb.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	7. FIVE; The Weirdo On Maple Street

That afternoon once school ended Cat said her goodbyes to Barb, pulling her into a hug before mounting her bike and cycling to the Middle School where she met up with Dustin and Lucas who informed her that they were going to Mike's house. Cat decided to go with them, seeing as she was going to go over there later anyways to get ready with Nancy for the party at Steve's. She'd decided to go as a way to take her mind off of everything. As soon as they arrived at the Wheeler's, Mike dragged them all to his room and Dustin quietly shut the door behind them. They stared for a moment at the small girl from the previous day who was sat cross-legged on Mike's bed.

"Are you out of your mind?" Lucas asked the raven haired boy.

"Just listen to me." Mike replied.

"You are out of your mind!" Lucas responded as Dustin stayed staring at the girl. Cat sent a comforting smile at the girl who sent the older girl a quick but small smile in response.

"She knows about Will." Mike's statement caused Cat to whip her head in his direction, her hair hitting her in the face. Her eyes widened as she pulled her hair into a ponytail so it was out her face.

"What do you mean she knows about Will?" Dustin asked, turning his gaze from the girl to Mike.

Mike went over to the table near the door, picking up a picture of all four of the boys. He held it up in front of Lucas, Dustin and Cat so they could see it. "She pointed at him, at his picture." He explained to them. "She knew he was missing. I could tell."

"You could tell?" Lucas questioned, not quite believing his friend.

"Just think about it." Mike began. "Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood, the same place where Will disappeared?"

Cat raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the quiet girl. She could tell by the look on her face that she was scared.

"That is weird." Dustin agreed as he and Lucas shared a look.

"And she said that bad people are after her."

Cat's eyes widened again. "No wonder she's terrified if she's got bad people after her." She took a seat on Mike's bed next to the girl and gently rubbed her back.

"I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will." Mike explained to them. Catherine shook her head slightly, trying to push down the guilt she had for not cycling Will home. "I think she knows what happened to him." Mike told his friends.

"Then why doesn't she tell us?" Lucas asked, his arms crossed over his chest. They were silent for a moment as they all looked at the girl sat next to Catherine. Lucas took a few steps forward until he was right in front of her. "Do you know where he is?" Lucas snapped, clearly frightening the girl as she moved closer to Cat. The boy suddenly grabbed her shoulders asking loudly if she knew where Will was. Catherine let out a gasp, prying Lucas's hands off of the young girl. She stood up and pulled Lucas a few step away from the girl and scolded him for scaring the frightened girl. As she did this, Mike yelled at Lucas to stop, stating that he was scaring the girl.

"She should be scared!" He yelled back as Cat walked back over to the girl and slowly pulled her in for a hug, trying to not scare her anymore than she already was. "If you know where he is, tell us!" The young girl stared up at Lucas from over Cat's shoulder. Cat, who was knelt in front of the young girl turned to Lucas. "She's not going to tell you anything if you're scaring her. I thought you were smart, Sinclair." Cat scoffed, turning back to the young girl. The young girl sat in silence, wrapping her arms around Cat's neck.

Lucas walked back over to Mike and Dustin. "This is nuts. We have to take her to your mom."

"No!" Mike responded, his voice just as loud and defensive as Lucas'. "Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger." Cat raised her eyebrows yet again at the mention of what was apparently the girl's name.

"What kind of danger?" Dustin asked as Lucas questioned, "Her name is Eleven?"

"El for short."

"Mike," Cat turned her body away from Eleven for a moment, worry lacing her words. "You said telling anyone else would put us in danger. What kind of danger?"

"Danger danger." Mike snapped and Cat ran a hand through her ponytail. Mike moved his hands to Dustin's forehead, his fingers imitating a gun before moving his hand towards Lucas, who slapped the boy's arm away.

"No, no, no!" Lucas yelled as Catherine's face contorted into one of worry. She cared deeply for the kids and would do anything to keep them safe. "We're going back to plan A. We're telling your mom." The boy made his way to the door as Cat stood up from where she had been kneeling on the floor. As he opened the door it closed. He did this a couple of times, each time he opened the door it shut, leaving the boys and Catherine confused as to what was going on. They watched as the door locked itself. All three boys turned to Eleven and Cat turned to the girl too, her eyes glancing down at the blood leaking from the girl's nose.

Eleven had stood up from the bed, moving to stand next to Cat as she simply told the boys, "No."

***

Cat had left the boys and the mystery that was Eleven and was now sitting in Nancy's room as she was on the phone to Barb, trying to convince her to come to the party at Steve's. Cat was nervous to go to the party, not wanting to be around Tommy and Carol but she needed to clear her head and take a moment to forget the issues surrounding the people she knew and the guilt she had for Will's disappearance, but she knew it was the only way she'd ever be able to take her mind off of everything.

Cat watched as Nancy fell backwards onto her bed, her phone by her ear. "Because Cat and I don't want to go by ourselves." She told Barb. Catherine only heard a mumble from the other end of the phone, unable to hear what her red-headed friend was saying. "Barb... Barb, it's not rocket science." Nancy sat up. "You just tell your parents you're gonna stay at my place afterwards. That's what Cat did." She looked over at the girl who was lying on her bed, her head laying on the pillows. Cat shook her head, signalling that she had yet to tell her mother about her plans. "Or she will do anyway." Nancy continued speaking into the phone. Cat heard muffled words on the other end of the phone as Barb spoke. "No, tell them we're..." She looked to Cat for help and the girl mouthed the word 'studying', knowing that was a believable lie. Nancy relayed the word down the phone to Barb. It was then that Karen Wheeler called the girls down for dinner. Nancy yelled back to her mom that they'd be down in a minute before continuing her conversation with Barb. "Look, I gotta go. Cat and I'll see you in an hour."

***

The two girls sat round at the dinner table as did the boys. Cat was sat in between Nancy and Mike as Dustin sat at the end of the table between Mike and Lucas who was next to Mr. Wheeler. Mrs. Wheeler was sat next to him with little Holly between her and Nancy.

The group were quiet as they played around with the food on their plates. Karen noticed that the children and two teens had barely touched their food. "Something wrong with the meatloaf?" She asked.

Cat looked up at the lady and smiled politely. "No, no. It's lovely Mrs. Wheeler. I'm just not that hungry." She had eaten very little of her food, having barely eaten a quarter of the food that sat in front of her. Karen noticed that the Henderson teen had barely touched her meatloaf, much like she hardly touched whatever food she had when she came over, even if she was eating pizza with the boys. She made a mental note to ask Nancy about her friend's eating habits at a later point in time.

Dustin also answered the question about the meatloaf. "Oh, no, I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch." He told Mrs. Wheeler. "I don't know why."

Lucas let out a small chuckle. "Me, too."

"It's delicious, Mom." Nancy smiled at her.

"Thank you, sweetie."

"So, there's this... special assembly thing tonight..." Nancy began. "For Will at the school field. Barb's driving."

"Why am I just hearing about this?" Karen asked her daughter.

Nancy's eyes widened. "I thought you knew."

"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found."

"I know, I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there but Catherine is." Nancy told her mother. "I mean, everyone's going." Karen looked over at Catherine to see if what Nancy was saying was true as Cat just nodded her head silently. Karen sighed.

"Just... be back by 10:00." Karen told her, not liking the idea of her daughter going out late with everything that was going on. Nancy nodded going back to her meatloaf. "Why don't you and Cat take the boys too?" Mrs. Wheeler suggested to the two teens.

At that all three boys looked up from their plates as they collectively disagreed.

Karen had a confused look on her face as the two teens stared at the boys. "Don't you think you should be there?" Karen asked them. "For Will?"

Mike suddenly choked on the glass of milk he was drinking and Cat gave him a weird look. Karen went to look at where Mike's eyes were staring when Dustin banged his hands on the table causing the older woman to jump in her seat, letting out a gasp at the sudden noise. Cat looked past both Nancy and Mrs. Wheeler to see Eleven walking down the stairs and that's when everything clicked inside the girl's head. The boys were creating a diversion.

"Sorry." Dustin apologised. "Spasm."

Holly started whimpering in her high chair and Karen let out a small 'oh' turning to attend to her youngest child. "It's okay, Holly. It's just a loud noise."

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	8. SIX; The Weirdo On Maple Street

Cat watched the boys as they went downstairs to the basement to see Eleven and she followed them to the top of the stairs. "Now I'd love to help you guys find Will. Really. But I'm going out so I need you boys to promise me that you'll stay out of trouble and stay safe. Okay? Keep me updated if anything weird happens." She told them, pulling her younger brother into a hug. The boys nodded and continued down to the basement. Cat let out a sigh, hoping that they would listen and keep out of trouble. She trudged up the stairs to Nancy's room where the girl was brushing her hair in front of the mirror.

"Hey, Nance." The slightly shorter girl greeted, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. "Do you have any makeup I could borrow? And do you reckon you could help me do my hair?"

The taller girl nodded and grabbed some hairbands while also handing her friend the little makeup she owned. Catherine took a seat in front of the mirror and started applying some mascara to her eyelashes as her friend started brushing the girl's hair.

When Barb turned up to give both girls a lift, Cat had her hair in two French braids, courtesy of Nancy, and was sporting some blush with some mascara. She didn't put any foundation on as Nancy told her she didn't need any and it would cover up the small freckles that were dotted across her nose.

***

The girls drove down the road to Steve's house. Barb was behind the wheel as it was her car and Nancy sat next to her in the passenger seat. Cat sat behind them, gazing out the window and playing with the hem of her _'Bon Jovi'_ t-shirt. There was some music playing on the radio, not that Cat was paying any attention to it.

"Barbara, pull over." Nancy's voice grabbed Cat's attention and she pulled her gaze away from the window to the two girls sat in front of her.

"What?" Barb asked, confused.

"Pull over!"

Barb pulled the car over as Nancy had said. "What are we doing here?" The red-head asked. "His house is three blocks away."

"We can't park in the driveway." Nancy said like it was obvious. Catherine sat forward in her seat, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, the neighbours might see." Nancy responded.

"So?" Cat asked her. "I'm not walking three blocks, in the dark too!"

"This is so stupid." Barb told Nancy. "I'm just gonna drop you two off."

"Calm down, Barb. Come on." Nancy reached into her bag, putting away the lipstick she had just put on. "You promised that you'd go. You're coming." Catherine rolled her eyes. "We're gonna have a great time."

"Okay, sure." Cat mumbled sarcastically.

"He just wants to get in your pants." Barb argued. And as much as Cat didn't want to think about that being true, she nodded her head, agreeing, because it was true. This was Steve Harrington of all people. Of course that was the reason as to why he'd invited Nancy over when his parents were away.

Nancy chuckled. "No, he doesn't."

"Nance... seriously." Barb tried. "He invited you to his house. His parents aren't home." Nancy just looked at the girl. "Come on, you are not this stupid."

"Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there." Nancy said, neither of the girls noticing how Cat shuddered at the names of the people she hated most in the world.

"Tommy and Carol have been having sex since, like, seventh grade." Barb pointed out, shaking her head. "It'll probably just be, like, a big orgy." The three girls in the car laughed.

"Gross." Nancy stated as she took her seatbelt off.

"I'm serious!"

"All right, well..." Nancy started taking her jumper off. "You and Cat can be like, my guardians. All right?" Cat sighed. She did not want to be responsible for another person her age. She could deal with being responsible for the boys but having to look out for Nancy? She wasn't sure she'd enjoy that. "Make sure I don't get drunk and do anything stupid." The brown haired girl pulled her top over her head and pulled out another one from her bag.

"I'm not a goody-toe shoes, Nance." Cat pointed out. "How can I make sure you don't do something stupid when I'm likely to have a drink or two?"

"Is that a new bra?" Barb asked Nancy as she pulled on a new top.

"No." Nancy denied.

***

The three girls walked up to the massive doors that marked the entrance to the house of Steve Harrington. Cat slid her hands in the pockets of her jeans to stop them from twitching due to her nerves. She hadn't visited the Harrington household in quite a few years. She could hear faint music coming from inside the house, although it was too faint for her to be able to make out what it specifically was. Nancy and Cat stood either side of Barb as the former girl reached forward to ring the bell. They waited for about a minute or two before the big red doors swung open, revealing Steve Harrington himself.

The boy smiled at the girls and stood with one hand holding onto the door and the other on his hip. "Hello, ladies."

Cat let a small smile grace her face as Steve's eyes glanced over all three girls, landing on Cat's t-shirt. "Loving the top, Henderson." The girl felt her face heat up as her hand moved to grip onto Barb's arm. The red-head knew about the crush her friend had on the boy but neither of the girls had told Nancy because she was dating the guy. The girls followed the other teen through the house, Cat being the last one through the door and so she politely shut it behind her, leaving her hands outside her jean pockets.

***

The girls walked through the back of the house to the pool to see Tommy trying to throw Carol into the water. The girl was shrieking and Cat pulled the sleeves of her flannel over her hands before placing them over her ears, showing her obvious discomfort at the sound.

The three newcomers to the party sat down on chairs around the pool, Cat sitting in the one next to Barb, and taking her hands off her ears when Carol's shrieking stopped. The girl watched as Steve sliced a can of beer open and started drinking from it. Cat looked over at Barb who seemed unimpressed by the boys actions. Steve exhaled, sitting down in the chair next to Nancy who asked, "Is that supposed to impress me?"

Cat watched as Steve placed a cigarette between his lips and she silently wished she had her packet on her so she could have one to calm her nerves.

"You're not?" He asked, shrugging at Nancy.

"You are a cliché, you do realize that?" Nancy told her boyfriend.

"You are a cliché." Steve responded, lighting his cigarette. "What with your... your grades and your band practice."

Catherine shuddered and grabbed Barb's hand, a sign that meant she really needed something to calm her down, usually a cigarette. The girl would have asked for one but was too nervous to talk and she could feel an anxiety attack coming, making her hand grip onto Barb's tighter.

Nancy laughed, not noticing her friend's discomfort. "I'm so not in band."

"Okay, party girl. Why don't you just, uh, show us how it's done, then?" Steve handed her a can of beer and a pocket knife to slice it open with. Both of her friends rolled their eyes and while Nancy was chugging the drink, Cat leaned over the girl's seat and snatched both a cigarette and the lighter from the table next to where Steve had been sat. Her hands were shaking as she brought the object to her mouth and lit it, burning her hand slightly in the process. She let out a small wince, throwing the lighter back onto the table as she took a drag of the cigarette, breathing out a cloud of smoke. The girl watched as Nancy chucked the empty can on the ground, laughing.

"Barb, you wanna try?" Nancy asked the red-head who sat in her chair looking and feeling bored.

The red-head raised her eyebrows at the girl. "What? No."

Nancy walked over and grabbed a can from beside Cat. "No, I don't want to. Thanks."

"Come on." Nancy tried.

"Yeah..." Steve also tried to get Barb to drink. "Come on. Yeah."

"Nance, I don't want to." Barb told her friend.

"It's fun! Just give it a-"

Barb cut her off. "Nance..." She trailed off as Nancy handed her the beer.

"Just... Just give it a shot."

Barbara took the can from Nancy. Cat sighed, letting smoke pour out her mouth. "You don't have to if you don't want to." She told her best friend, annoyed that Nancy was trying to force her into doing something she clearly didn't want to do.

"No, it's okay." She held Cat's arm for a moment, trying to reassure the worried girl that she'd be fine, before standing up from her seat. She held the can in her left hand, brining the knife down. However, her hand slipped and instead of the knife piercing a hole in the beer can, it sliced a fairly deep cut down her thumb.

Catherine stood up immediately, throwing her cigarette on the ground and stomping on it before taking the beer can and knife from her friend and throwing them onto the chair behind her. She pulled Barb's hand closer to her so she could inspect the wound.

"Gnarly." Cat ignored Tommy as she pulled her flannel sleeve over her hand and pressed it to her friend's wound.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked, taking a few steps towards the two girls. Cat lifted her flannel from the wound, wiping the blood from her friend's hand with her sleeve. "Barb, you're bleeding."

"No shit, Nancy." Cat snapped, annoyed at her for peer pressuring Barb. She was here to forget her problems, not have more thrown at her.

"I'm fine." Barb insisted before turning to Steve. "Where's your bathroom?"

Steve stood up from his seat, pointing towards his house. "Oh, it's... It's, uh, down past the kitchen, to the left."

"Okay. Thanks." Barb told him, turning away from the group and heading inside. Cat quickly followed after her, worried.

"Hey, hey. Barb?" She placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do... do you want me to come with you?" The red-head shook her head and continued to the bathroom, leaving the shorter brown haired girl alone in the hallway feeling horrible for what happened. She walked back outside, stealing another cigarette from the packet on the table and grabbed the lighter, lighting it. Her hand was still hurting from where she burnt it slightly but she didn't care. She shoved one hand in her pocket, the other one holding the cigarette while she took a drag, a cloud of smoke escaping her lips. She turned away from the two couples, heading back to the house.

"Oi, Henderson!" Steve called out, grabbing the girl's attention. "Where are you going?"

"Home!" The short girl called out, stepping inside the boy's home, her ears barely picking up Tommy calling her a "weird, boring psycho" because she was leaving and hadn't even had a drink yet.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	9. SEVEN; Holly, Jolly

The next morning, Catherine sat behind Nancy during first period, both girls noticing that their friend Barb was absent from her seat next to Nancy. Nancy turned around in her seat to see her friend slumped over her desk. With a frown on her face she asked, "hey, Cat. You seen Barb at all today?"

The girl shook her head, sitting up slightly in her seat. "No, not since I left the so-called party last night."

"Why did you leave so early anyway?" Nancy asked.

"Because I knew Barb wasn't going to stay and I wasn't about to become the fifth wheel while you hung out with your boyfriend and his friends."

Nancy nodded her head in understanding before tuning back around in her seat and tapping the shoulder of the girl who sat in front of her. "Hey, Ally." The girl, Ally, turned her head to Nancy. "Where's Barb?"

"Um, shouldn't you two know?" The girl answered as Nancy shared a look of concern with Catherine, the girl slowly falling asleep at her desk.

"You haven't seen her anywhere... at all?" Nancy asked, leaning forward in her seat slightly. Ally shook her head, turning back in her seat so she was facing the front of the classroom.

***

At lunch Cat followed Nancy to the table where Steve, Tommy and Carol were sat at. Seeing as Barb was nowhere to be found, and she didn't want to sit alone, this was her only option. Sit with her best friends boyfriend and his bullies for friends. The girls placed their lunch trays on the table, although Cat's held a lot less food than Nancy's, as both girls took a seat. Nancy sat next to Steve while Catherine sat on the end of the table on her friend's other side. She sighed as she saw Carol's foot on the table, the girl showing the others the bite on her ankle. The sight was enough to put Cat off of the little food she had and she pushed her tray away from her, deciding that skipping one meal wouldn't hurt.

The two girls caught the tail-end of the conversation about Carol's ankle. "Well, if it's not frostbite, then what is it?"

"Ugh," Steve groaned. "I don't care what it is, it's disgusting! Get it off the table. We're eating here." Carol lifted her leg off of the table, kicking Cat's leg as she adjusted her legs beneath the table top. Cat flinched slightly, sending a glare towards the girl opposite her.

"Hey, Tommy." Nancy spoke to the boy opposite her boyfriend. "When you left, did you see Barb?"

"What?" the boy asked through a mouthful of food. Cat stared at him in disgust.

"She's talking about our friend Barbara." Cat explained. "You know, tall, red-head. Wears glasses." Nancy nodded at her friend, showing that that was who she was talking about.

"Yeah, she's not here today." Nancy elaborated.

"I seriously have no idea who the two of you are talking about." Tommy told them as Cat rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance.

"Come on, don't be an ass, man." Steve said. "Did you... Did you see her leave last night or not?"

"No, she was gone when we left." Tommy told the three sitting opposite him and Carol.

"Probably couldn't stand listening to all that moaning." Carol interjected through a mouthful of food and Catherine looked at her in confusion as the girl started moaning. Cat sent Nancy a look, understanding exactly what Carol was going on about.

"Listen... I'm sure she's fine." Steve attempted to reassure the girls, although Cat knew he was mainly talking to Nancy. "She's probably just... she's probably just, like, skipping or something." Both Nancy and Cat shared a look knowing that it wasn't like their friend to skip school. She always had 100% attendance, never missing a day of school in her life. Unlike Catherine who tended to skip a lot of her classes, especially recently.

"Yeah." Nancy said, unconvinced by Steve's words. "Yeah, probably." The girl looked over to the doorway, seeing Jonathan and making eye contact with the boy. She tapped Cat's shoulder, getting the girl's attention. Cat looked over at her friend, bidding farewell to Nancy knowing the others wouldn't notice her leaving.

She ran out of the lunch hall and down the corridor, calling out to her friend. "Jonathan! Hey, Byers!"

The boy turned around and waited for her to catch up to him. When she did, she bent over her knees trying to catch her breath. "Out of breath?" He asked her as the girl shook her head in denial.

"Ha, ha." Cat laughed sarcastically as the two friends started walking down the hall. "Wanna hang out for a bit? Not particularly fond of my next lesson."

Jonathan looked at his friend. "You're not skipping chemistry again, are you?"

Cat smiled. "Oh yeah. The teacher is so boring and he's gonna make me take the test that I missed the other day! And I haven't studied at all." She pulled out her packet of cigarettes, picking one and placing it between her lips.

"You do realise that one of these days those things are gonna kill you." Jonathan told her, watching as she pulled the lighter out of her pocket, lighting the stick that was hanging from her lips.

Catherine held the lit cigarette between her fingers, letting the smoke blow from her lips. "That's the point." She stated with a serious look on her face, watching as her friend looked at her in concern.

***

A bit later after the last period, Cat stood at the phone box outside the school, leaning against it with another cigarette between her lips while she watched Nancy call Barb's house to find out if she really had just skipped school that day.

"Come on, come on, come on..." Nancy muttered as the line rang. A second later she spoke into the phone so Cat assumed that someone at the house had picked up. She moved closer to Nancy so she could try and hear whoever was on the other end. "Hi, uh, Ms. Holland, it's Nancy."

"Oh, Nancy, how are you?" Cat heard her friend's mother speak through the receiver, although her voice was faint. The girl blew out smoke from her lips, causing Nancy to let out a cough. She grabbed the cigarette from her friend and chucked it onto the pavement, making sure to step on it. Catherine let out a sigh, placing another one between her lips, this time leaving it unlit.

"Good. I'm good." Nancy spoke into the phone. "Um, I was just wondering, uh, is Barb there?"

"Mmm... No, she hasn't come home yet." The older woman informed the teen.

"But she did come home, right? After the vigil?" Nancy asked and Cat sensed the worry in her voice.

"No, she said she was staying with you last night." Cat could hear how confused the lady was.

"Right, yes. She did, sorry." Nancy apologised. "I meant, did she come home this morning? I think she left some textbooks and she was gonna go pick them up."

"Oh, um, no, I haven't seen her." Ms. Holland told her and Catherine frowned in confusion. _Where could Barb be?_

"Do- Do you know what? I just remembered... she's at the library." Nancy told the woman.

"Nancy, will you please have her call me as soon as you find her?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I will. Sorry to bother you." She said as she hung up the phone. The two girls shared a look of worry for where their friend could be.

The two girls walked over to where Steve, Carol, Tommy and some girl named Nichole (someone Cat never spoke to) were ganging up on Jonathan. Cat propped her bike against her side as Nancy asked the group, "what's going on?"

"Here's the starring lady." Cat looked at Tommy in confusion, already hating his presence.

"What?" Nancy asked, just as confused as her friend.

"This creep was spying on us last night." Carol spat. "He was probably gonna save this one for later." She handed one of the photos to Nancy while she stared at Jonathan. Cat looked at the photo that was in Nancy's hands. She looked away, feeling like that wasn't a photo she had the right to look at; her friend being in just her bra, standing at the window of what Cat knew was Steve's room.

Steve clicked his tongue. "See, you can tell that he knows it was wrong, but..." He walked up to Jonathan who had a guilty look on his face. "Man, that's the thing about perverts... It's hardwired into 'em. You know, they just can't help themselves." He ripped up the photos that were in his hands as Carol and Tommy looked through the rest, laughing. "So..." Steve continued, ripping up more photos. "we'll just have to take away his toy."

"Steve..." Nancy called to him, her arms folded over her chest.

"No, please, not the camera." Jonathan said, his voice quiet and scared.

Steve got Jonathan's camera out of his bag and held it out to him. "Here you go, man." Just as Jonathan reached out to grab his camera from Steve, the boy turned his hand so his palm was facing the ground of the carpark and the camera fell, breaking into pieces as it hit the ground. Cat let out a gasp, her hands letting her bike clatter to the ground as they covered her mouth. She had forgotten about the unlit cigarette that was hanging between her lips and when she gasped she began choking on it. Nancy quickly uncrossed her arms and began patting the girl on her back as she forcefully pulled the cigarette from her mouth, throwing it to floor over her shoulder. She pushed herself away from Nancy as Tommy began laughing.

"Come on, let's go. The game's about to start." Steve called his friends away.

Jonathan quickly knelt to the ground, trying to gather up the pieces of his ripped up photos and broken camera. Cat knelt down next to him, trying to help while Nancy stood by the pair for a moment. Catherine felt bad for her friend, knowing that he had saved up for what felt forever to be able to afford the camera. But part of her knew that what her friend did was wrong.

"Hey, Nance!" Steve called as the girl knelt down looking at a photo of Barb sat on the diving board of the pool. Her head turned to look at Steve as he called for her. "Come on." She quickly picked up the pieces of the photo of her friend before standing up, avoiding eye contact with Jonathan. She quickly walked away and Cat watched as Steve put his arm around her friend.

Cat turned to Jonathan, pieces of ripped up photos in her hand. "You know, I may have a giant crush on him but I won't hesitate to punch him. You just say the word and I will punch Steve Harrington in his pretty face. Someone needs to knock some niceness into him."

Jonathan smiled at the girl before glancing at the time on her watch. "Don't you have to pick Dustin up from school?" He asked her.

Cat looked down at her watch. "Shit." She handed Jonathan the photos that she was holding. "Shit, shit." She stood up and grabbed her bike off of the ground. "I'm really sorry I couldn't stay and help." She sent the boy a small smile before climbing onto her bike. She looked over her shoulder at the boy. "I'll get you a new camera, though. Mom's gonna pay me for spending time with Dustin and I don't have anything I want to spend my money on so, why not get you a new camera?" She shrugged as she started cycling towards the middle school, calling out a goodbye to her friend from over her shoulder.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	10. EIGHT; Holly, Jolly

"El!" Mike called as he, Lucas, Dustin and Cat wheeled their bikes up the hill towards the powerlines behind his house. The boys had filled the older girl in on their afternoon plans on the way to the Wheeler's house, stopping on the way there so Cat could grab her jacket. None of them wanted a repeat of last time. Eleven turned around to face them. "You okay?" The raven-haired boy asked her, getting a few nods from Eleven in response. The girl saw that Catherine was with them this time and a small smile appeared on her face. Cat's own face lit up with a smile at the sight of the small girl. Even though she barely knew the girl, she already felt responsible for her safety and would do anything for her. Cat dropped her bike for the second time that day and ran over to El, her arms wrapping around her small frame. The older girl leaned her head on El's, her body being only slightly taller than the girl in her arms. Shocked by the older girl's actions, Eleven hesitantly wrapped her arms around Cat's tiny frame. After a few moments, Catherine pulled away from the small girl, taking a few steps back to her bike.

As Lucas and Dustin were sorting their own bikes out, turning them around so they could cycle them towards the woods, and Catherine was picking up her bike from the grass, Mike patted the seat on his bike, talking to El. "Hop on. We only have a few hours." The girl sat on the back of the seat while Mike climbed on in front of her. The group began cycling, Cat behind them to make sure she had eyes on all of the kids. She couldn't lose either of them.

***

The group wheeled their bikes along the trail in the woods and Cat moved her gaze from the leaves beneath her feet when she heard her brother's voice. "So, Cat. How was the party last night?"

Catherine scoffed.

"That bad, huh?" Lucas asked her.

Catherine nodded. She started to say something about Barb and how worried she was for the girl but stopped, not wanting to worry the kids with her problems. She looked ahead to see Mike walking alongside El, both deep in their own conversation. She looked down when she felt a tug on her sleeve. "Kit? Are you okay?" Dustin asked her, concerned for his older sister.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Her response didn't convince him though.

"You sure?" Lucas asked. "You look kinda pale."

Dustin nodded. "You did eat something today, right?" He knew about his sister's habit to skip meals or that when she did eat, it was only in tiny amounts.

Cat's breath hitched in her throat. "Well... I mean, I had breakfast-"

"Yeah, if by breakfast you mean five tiny bites of an apple." Dustin interrupted.

Cat sighed. "And then I was going to eat something at lunch, but Nancy just had to sit with Steve and I didn't want to be by myself because Barb wasn't there, so I sat with her. And Carol," She cringed at the name as if it were a food she had taken a bite out of and not realised it was mouldy or out of date. "-Just had to have her feet on the table, showing everyone this disgusting thing on her ankle."

"You better not pass out on us, Henderson" Lucas said to her.

The teen shook her head as she began to fall in line with Mike and Eleven. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Why did they hurt you?" Cat heard Eleven ask Mike as she looked up in confusion.

"What?" Mike asked the girl, also confused for a moment. El pointed at the cut on his chin. "Oh, that. Uh... I just fell at recess."

"Bullshit." Cat muttered, seeing through the lie. "Wait, who hurt you?" She asked. "Do you want me to say something to them?"

Mike shook his head. "No. No. It's fine."

"Mike..." Eleven started.

"Yeah?"

"Friends tell the truth." El stated, also seeing through Mike's lie.

"She has point, Wheeler." Cat agreed.

The raven-haired boy sighed. "I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy, okay?"

"He's still bullying you?" Cat asked, upset that neither of the boys had mentioned it to her.

"Mouth breather?" El asked, confused by the word.

"Yeah, you know... a dumb person." Mike explained. "A knucklehead."

"Knucklehead?" Eleven asked, still confused.

"I don't know why I didnt just tell you. Everyone at school knows. I just didn't want you to think I was a wastoid, you know?" Cat took one hand off her bike and rubbed the boy's shoulder for a moment. It was her silent way of comforting and it was something the boys appreciated a lot.

"Mike..." Eleven's voice was quiet.

"Yeah?"

"I understand."

"Oh. Okay, cool."

"Cool." Eleven smiled at the boy.

Cat slowed down, allowing the two to walk together. She fell back in line with Dustin and Lucas. "So, how much do you want to bet that those two will end up together?" She smiled.

***

It was dark as Eleven lead the group down the path, eventually coming to a stop. Cat's eyes widened when she realised that they had reached the Byers's house. The young girl turned to the others. "Here." She stated.

"Yeah, this is where Will lives." Mike told her.

"Hiding." Eleven said, her voice quiet.

"No, no, this is where he lives." Mike said. "He's missing from here. Understand?"

"What are we doing here?" Lucas asked as he and Dustin dropped their bikes onto the grass. Cat had hers leaning against her side like she did in the parking lot at school.

"She said he's hiding here." Mike informed the two boys.

"Um... no!"

"I swear, if we walked all the way out here for nothing-" Dustin started.

"That's exactly what we did." Lucas exclaimed, cutting him off. Cat just stood there, not sure what to believe. "I told you she didn't know what the hell she was talking about!" He yelled, waving his arm in Eleven's direction.

"Why did you bring us here?" Mike asked El.

The young girl tried to stammer out her answer but was cut off by Lucas. "Mike, don't waste your time with her."

"What do you want to do then?" The raven-haired boy snapped.

"Call the cops, like we should have done yesterday."

"We are not calling the cops!" Mike argued back to Lucas.

"Hey, guys?" Dustin called, causing both girls to look over at him as he stepped between the two fighting boys, walking further forward into the front garden.

"What other choice do we have?" Lucas asked Mike, his voice loud.

Cat slapped his arm, getting him to shut up as Dustin called out to the others for a second time. "Guys!" The group all moved towards Dustin as they heard sirens approaching. They watched as police cars and an ambulance raced past on the main road. Cat let out a sob, knowing who the vehicles were for.

"Will..." Mike breathed out as they all stood there in shock for a moment before turning and racing towards their bikes. They jumped on them and cycled in the direction the ambulance and police cars were driving. Cat let out a breath, wiping the tears that were forming in her eyes, her hair blowing everywhere as she raced after the boys and Eleven.

***

The group came to a stop just behind a fire engine, jumping off the bikes and racing as far forward as they could, without being seen by the adults. Catherine waved them behind her, making sure they stayed covered behind the vehicle. They watched as the firemen carried a body out of the water. From where Catherine stood, and what she could make out through the darkness, the body looked like Will. She let out another sob, her hand lifting to cover her mouth- the guilt of letting Will cycle himself home that night started eating at her, her insides forming a knot.

"It's not Will. It can't be." Mike denied.

"It's Will." Lucas said quietly after a moment. "It's really Will."

Catherine let the tears fall down her face as she let out another sob. The group turned away from the scene, taking a few steps towards the bikes that lay on the ground. Eleven reached her hand out to Mike's shoulder. "Mike..." She said softly. The boy pushed her hand away.

"'Mike?' 'Mike,' what?" He snapped at El, who let out a gasp. "You were supposed to help us find him alive. You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us? What's wrong with you?" Cat walked over, pulling Mike away from the girl in fear that he would lash out and hit her. "What is wrong with you?" Cat pulled the boy towards her and he cried into her shoulder for a few minutes before pulling himself away from her and storming off with his bike.

"Mike, come on. Don't do this, man." Lucas called out to him, tears falling down his face. "Mike..."

"Mike, where are you going?" Dustin asked. "Mike!"

"Mike!" Lucas called out again.

Catherine wrapped her arms around the three kids, trying to hug them at the same time as they each cried into her. The older girl ran her fingers through their hair, a small attempt at getting them to calm down.

***

_Edited: 4/4/2020_


	11. NINE; The Body

Catherine somehow managed to drag herself to school the next morning. She was going to stay home and comfort her brother after the evenings events but when Nancy called and said she needed to speak to her about Barb's disappearance she forced herself to cycle to school.

She was stood between two of the school's buildings next to the sports track, where she usually smokes, except this time she was joined by Nancy and Steve, the school's hottest couple. Nancy was telling them about what she saw near his house.

"So, wait a sec. I don't understand. You went back to my house?" Steve questioned.

"To look for Barb." Nancy told him.

"Yeah, okay, but why didn't you just talk to me? That's crazy."

Cat rolled her eyes, deciding now was a good time for a smoke. She reached into her pocket, placing the last cigarette between her lips and lighting it, blowing smoke elegantly from her lips.

"I don't know, I... I was scared."

"You could have told me. I was babysitting those little shits. Wouldn't have minded a break from that for a minute." Cat told her friend, taking another drag from her cigarette. Nancy apologised to her, saying that it was a last minute thing. Cat nodded, forgiving her friend.

"You seriously think you saw a guy in a mask just hanging out in my yard?" Steve asked.

Cat scoffed. "For such a large house, it's quite easy to break into, apparently."

"I don't think it was a mask." Nancy said, looking between her boyfriend and her remaining best friend.

"But he had no face?" Steve questioned.

"I don't know! I don't know, I just... I have a terrible feeling about this."

"Oh, this is bad." Steve muttered. Cat raised an eyebrow at the boy, thinking for a moment that maybe he actually care about their missing friend. "This is really bad." He muttered again, taking a step back, leaning against the other wall.

"What?" Nancy asked him, taking a step towards him.

"The cops... they're gonna want to talk to all of us now."

"So?" Cat asked, not seeing why it was so bad. Barbara was missing and they needed to find her. She took another drag of her cigarette, blowing out more smoke from her lips.

"Tommy, Carol, Henderson over here," he pointed to her, "everybody who was at the party."

"Okay... and?" Cat asked, not quite understanding what he was getting at. _The cops would help them find Barb, wouldn't they?_

"Yeah, so?" Nancy crossed her arms over her chest.

"My parents are gonna murder me!" Steve exclaimed.

"Big deal!" Catherine sighed throwing her arms up in the air, irritated with the boy.

"Are you serious right now?" Nancy asked.

"You don't understand. My dad's a grade-A asshole."

"Doesn't mean you have to be." Catherine snapped, blowing smoke into his face.

"Barb is missing! And you're worried about your dad?" Nancy yelled at him.

"Okay, just... When you talk to the cop, just... don't mention the beers. It's just gonna get us all in trouble, and Barbara's got nothing to do with it, okay?" He stepped closer to Nancy as Cat rolled her eyes. _Why'd she have to crush on someone who doesn't care about anyone other than himself and his stupid reputation?_

"Actually, some of us didn't touch the stupid alcohol..." Cat mumbled, taking yet another drag of her cigarette, resting it between her fingers.

Nancy scoffed. "I can't believe you right now." She started to walk away. "I can't believe you."

"Nancy. Nancy, wait!" Steve called out to her, watching as she walked away.

"Well done, asshole." Catherine snapped, throwing her cigarette to the gravel and hurrying after her friend, hoping she would be able to provide some comfort to her.

***

Both Nancy and Catherine were sat in the empty cafeteria next to Mrs. Wheeler as the cops asked them both questions about the night Barbara went missing. They had both explained what happened that night, Cat making it very clear that she left before Barb and so had no idea what happened before the girl's disappearance. She had stopped answering any of the questions that were directed at her, so the cops- who Cat knew quite well from the fact that she's been brought into the station multiple times on account of theft- had started focusing on Nancy.

"This argument you and Barbara had?" Powell began, "What exactly was it about?"

"It wasn't really an argument." Nancy told them. "Barb just wanted to leave. I didn't, so, I... I told her to just go home."

"Then what?"

"Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes."

"And the next day, you went back and... saw a bear, you're thinking?"

"I don't know what it was, but... I think... I think maybe it took Barb." Cat could sense her friend getting upset and so she rubbed a hand over Nancy's back. "You need to check behind Steve's house-"

"We did." Callahan cut her off. "There's nothing there. There's no sign of a bear."

"And no car." Powell added.

Cat's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Nancy let out a "What?"

"Look." Callahan started. "We figured that Barbara came back last night and then she took off, went somewhere else."

"But she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't just leave. That's-" Catherine cut herself off, distressed as to why her friend would just leave her without saying goodbye.

"Has she ever talked to you about running off? Leaving town, maybe? Maybe she mentioned it to you, seeing as Miss Henderson believes that's not something Barbara would do." Powell asked Nancy.

"No." Nancy answered, confused. "If Barb ever spoke about wanting to leave, she'd have said something to the both of us." he told the officers, pointing to herself and Cat. "Barb wouldn't do that, ever. She wouldn't just leave."

"She wasn't maybe upset about the fact that you were spending time with this boy?" Powell asked. "Uh, Steve Harrington?"

"What? No!"

"Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve's room?" Callahan asked.

"It wasn't like that." Nancy answered.

"Like what?" Callahan asked her, although Cat guessed he already knew and was just trying to get her to say it out loud.

"Steve and me, we're... we're just friends. We... we just talked."

"Now was this before or after you changed out of your clothes?" Callahan asked, glancing down to a piece of paper in front of him.

Mrs. Wheeler stared at her daughter as the police waited for Nancy to answer.

***

Catherine was lying face down on her bed, her head buried into her pillow. There was something weird going on in her town, she could feel it. The police were wrong, something had taken Barb, she wouldn't just leave. That wasn't like her, at all.

Sometime later that day she heard the doorbell ring, although it was muffled due to her pillow being over her ears. The teen groaned, silently wishing whoever it was would just go away. She could faintly hear her mother talking to whoever was stood at their front door and let out a groan when she heard her mother invite them inside. Not even a minute later, footsteps could be heard heading towards her bedroom as her mother called out, "Catherine, you've got a visitor!"

A knock sounded on her bedroom door and Cat lifted her head from her pillow, seeing Nancy standing in the doorway. She stepped forward into the girl's room, shutting the door behind her.

"I think I know what took Barb." The girl blurted out as Cat's eyes widened.

"You what?!" Catherine sat straight up, staring at her friend.

"I don't know how to explain it. But we need to find Jonathan. I think he can help. Do, do you know where he might be?"

"He's, um, probably, you know... At the funeral home." Cat's voice was quiet as she tied the laces on her trainers.

Nancy nodded, pulling her friend through the house, both girls calling out a goodbye to Catherine's mom as they passed the living room.

***

The girls stood in the doorway as Jonathan walked past, catching sight of the two girls. "Can you just give me a second?" He asked the worker, who responded with an "of course."

Jonathan walked over to Nancy and Catherine. "Hey." he greeted, looking confused as to why Nancy was there.

"Hey." Nancy greeted as Catherine sent a small smile to Jonathan. "Cat said you'd be here, and then we double-checked with your mom and, um... she said this is where you were.." She told him, her voice quiet. "I just..." Nancy took a deep breath. "Can we talk for a second?" She asked, motioning to the hallway.

***

Both Nancy and Jonathan sat on the bench in the hallway while Cat sat on the floor in front of them, her legs crossed. She handed the picture of Barb to Jonathan so he could look at it.

"It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion, but I wasn't using the wide angle." He looked to Nancy, handing her the picture. "I don't know. It's weird."

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Nancy asked him.

"No. And she was there one second and then, um... gone." Cat's eyebrows raised as she looked up from the carpet to her to friends. "I figured she bolted."

"The cops think that she ran away." Cat stated.

"But they don't know Barb." Nancy added. "And I went back to Steve's... and I thought I... saw something. Some... weird man or... I don't know what it was." It was quiet for a minute before Nancy spoke again. "I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have come here today, or dragged Cat with me." She picked her bag up from the floor by her feet. "I'm... I'm so sorry." She stood up from the bench, starting to walk away.

"What'd he look like?" Jonathan asked, causing Nancy to stop while Cat just stared up at her.

"What?" She asked, turning to face the boy.

"This man you saw in the woods. What'd he look like?"

Nancy stammered. "I don't know. It was almost like he... he didnt have-"

"Didn't have a face?" Jonathan asked. Cat looked at both of her friends, her eyes wide, not understanding what they were talking about, as she hadn't seen this weird creature that they were talking about.

"How did you know that?" Nancy asked him.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Catherine admitted to both of her friends, still sitting crossed-legged on the carpet. "But I believe you. There's something weird going on in this town and we need to figure out what it is. And save Barb."

***

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	12. TEN; The Body

Catherine and Nancy were watching Jonathan develop the photos so they could see the creature that Jonathan had photographed more clearly. The red light of the room was giving Cat a headache and she yearned for a cigarette.

"And you're..." Nancy trailed off, trying to understand what exactly Jonathan was doing.

"Brightening. Enlarging." Jonathan told her.

"Hmm." Nancy hummed in response. "Did your mom say anything else? Like, um, where it might have gone to, or..."

Jonathan shook his head, not looking up from what he was doing. "No, just that it came out of the wall." There was a small 'ding' from the machine as Jonathan sighed, gently placing the picture into what Catherine assumed was water, but couldn't really tell due to the light.

"How long does this take?" Nancy asked.

"Not long." Jonathan told her.

Cat watched the two from where she was leaning against the wall. The room was beginning to feel way to small and she yearned to leave so she could have a quick smoke.

"Have you been... doing this awhile?"

"What?"

"Photography?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I'd rather observe people than, you know..."

"Talk to them." Nancy finished his sentence, smiling at the boy.

"I know. It's weird."

"No!"

"No," Jonathan stammered. "It is. It's just, sometimes... people don't really say what they're really thinking." He explained. "But you capture the right moment... it says more."

Catherine smiled at the sight of her two friends, pushing away the anxiety of being in such a small room.

"What was I saying?" Nancy asked him.

"What?"

"When you took my picture."

Jonathan looked away from her. "I shouldn't have taken that. I'm, uh..." He looked back at Nancy. "I'm sorry. It's just-"

Nancy cut him off, looking at the photo. "That's it." Catherine stepped forward, now standing next to the pair. "That's what I saw."

"That... that is definitely not human." Cat stated as she analysed the creature in the photo.

Jonathan gasped. "My mom... I thought she was crazy 'cause she said... that's not Will's body. That he's alive."

"And if he's alive-"

"Then Barbara." Both Catherine and Jonathan said at the same time as the three teenagers shared the same hopeful looks.

***

**A/n:**

_I'm so sorry this chapter is short as heck. The way I split up the episode didn't work out how I planned and honestly, I'm too tired to sort it out._

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	13. ELEVEN; The Flea And The Acrobat

Jonathan opened the door to his house, closing it once Catherine had stepped inside. It wasn't uncommon for her to stay over at the Byers's and so Joyce wasn't too shocked to see the girl standing next to her eldest son.

"Hey, kid." The man who was sat next to Joyce on the couch greeted Jonathan, completely ignoring Cat. Catherine realised after a moment that it was Jonathan's father, Lonnie, who had left them. She had been there for both Jonathan and Will when he had walked out. She had spent a lot of time at their house, comforting the boys and helping Joyce tidy and clean the house. She knew what it was like to lose a family member. The older woman was very grateful for the girl's help.

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked.

"Your dad's, uh, gonna stay here tonight." Joyce stammered. "On the couch."

"Yeah, I'm here as long as you need me, okay?" Lonnie added. Cat couldn't help but scoff. The man left them and all of a sudden decides to randomly turn up to support them? She thought it was ridiculous. "How are you holding up?"

Jonathan walked over to the blue sheet that was hanging up on the wall by the window. He moved it, revealing a large hole in the wall. Catherine stepped forward slightly, away from the door, in order to see it.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked his mom.

"Don't worry about that." Lonnie spoke, not allowing Joyce to explain.

"Mom... that thing you saw before, did it come back?"

"Jonathan, that's enough."

"Can we talk?" Jonathan asked his dad. "Alone?"

The two stepped out of the room and Cat walked over to sit next to Joyce, wrapping an arm around the woman. "I believe you, you know. I believe that you saw something. And I believe that we can sort out whatever weird shit is happening in this town."

Joyce lightly pressed a kiss to the teen's hairline. "Thank you, Catherine."

***

The next morning was the day of Will's funeral. Catherine was borrowing an old black dress from Joyce as she had forgotten to pack her own before arriving at the Byers's house the previous evening. She pulled her hair into a simple ponytail as she walked over to Jonathan, seeing him getting frustrated with his tie.

"Need help with that?" She asked quietly. Jonathan sighed and nodded his head. Cat did his tie for him, remembering the time she had to tie Dustin's tie just before their father's funeral.

***

Catherine stood behind Dustin as the Pastor spoke. "Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God." Cat scoffed. If God was real, then he wouldn't have let this happen to Will and Barb wouldn't be missing. If God was real, she'd still have her father. "I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. It's times like these that our faith is challenged. How, if He is truly benevolent... could God take from us someone so young, so innocent?" Cat felt tears roll down her face and she was quick to wipe them away before placing her hands on Dustin's shoulders, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. "It would be easy to turn away from God... but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from His love."

Catherine tuned out the Pastor's words as she looked down at Dustin who was nudging Lucas and Mike, pointing over at a crying girl, Cat assumed she was in their year.

"Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral." A look of confusion formed on her face at Dustin's words. Mrs. Wheeler shushed him and Cat sent her an apologetic look.

***

Catherine sat with Jonathan and Nancy on the grass away from all the people in the cemetery after the funeral. "This is where we know for sure it's been, right?" The boy said to the two girls that sat either side of him, as he pointed at places on a map.

"So, that's..." Nancy trailed off, pointing at one place in particular on the map.

"Steve's house." Jonathan confirmed. He pointed at another place that he had marked on the map. "And that's the woods where they found Will's bike and..." He pointed to another red cross on the map.

"That's your house." Cat said, finishing the boy's sentence.

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah."

"It's all so close." Nancy pointed out as the others agreed with her.

"I mean, it's all within a mile or something." Jonathan told them as the girls both stared at the map.

"Whatever this thing is, it's... it's not travelling far." Cat added.

"You two want to go out there." Nancy said, looking at them both.

"We might not find anything."

"I found something." Nancy told them. "And if we do see it... then what?"

"Here's an idea," Both Jonathan and Nancy looked at their friend. "Why don't we kill it and finally put an end to all the weird shit that keeps happening."

***

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked Jonathan who was breaking into his dad's car.

"Just give me a second." The boy said, pulling out a hand gun from the glove compartment.

"Are you serious?" Nancy asked him.

"What?" Jonathan asked her, shoving stuff from the glove compartment into the pockets of his jacket. "You want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it?" He climbed out the car, shutting the door behind him.

"This is a terrible idea."

"How do expect to kill it? It's a monster. It took Will and it took Barb." Cat told her, pulling her own hand gun from her handbag. Her friends looked at her in confusion.

"Where'd you get that from?" Jonathan asked.

Cat sighed. "Callahan. Stole it from him when he arrested me the other week." She shrugged. It was a known fact between her friends that she'd been arrested a couple of times for stealing, mainly packets of cigarettes, lighters and occasionally cans of beers. The stealing started when her and Dustin's father died and was a lot worse at first. But over time she stopped stealing as often. She saw it as progress.

"It might be a terrible idea, but it's the best we've got." Jonathan told Nancy as Cat stuffed the gun back into her bag. Nancy looked worried. "What? You can tell someone, but they're not gonna believe you. You know that."

"Your mom would." Nancy said as Cat nodded.

"She's got a point."

"She's been through enough."

"She deserves to know."

"Yeah, and Cat and I'll tell her..." Catherine raised her eyebrows at her name, but she also knew that she would be with Jonathan when he eventually told Joyce about this. "When this thing is dead."

***

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	14. TWELVE; The Flea And The Acrobat

Catherine stood next to Jonathan while he practiced shooting the gun. She had already taken her turn at practicing and had surprisingly good aim, managing to hit the cans that the two teens had set up. Jonathan sighed. Unlike Cat, he had missed each of the cans.

"You're supposed to hit the cans, right?" Nancy called out to him, alerting the two teens to her presence as she approached them.

"No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I'm aiming for those."

Catherine laughed, taking note of Nancy's weapon of choice; a baseball bat.

"Ah." The girl simply said, taking her bag off her shoulder and placing both that and her bat on the ground.

"You ever shot a gun before?" Jonathan asked her.

"It's fun." Cat smiled. "And I'm surprisingly good at it."

Nancy scoffed. "Have you met my parents?" The three teens chuckled softly as Jonathan reloaded the gun.

"Yeah, I haven't shot one since I was ten." Jonathan told her. "My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit."

"A rabbit?"

"Yeah. I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man or something. I cried for a week."

"I remember that. You couldn't even step into my house because I owned a rabbit at the time and you couldn't bare to look at it." Cat spoke up, a smile gracing her face at the memory of her old rabbit.

"Jesus." Nancy breathed out.

"What? I'm a fan of Thumper." Jonathan defended.

Nancy chuckled. "I meant your dad."

"Yeah. I guess he and my mother loved each other at some point, but..." He cocked the gun. "...I wasn't around for that part."

Nancy held her hand out towards the gun. "Just, uh, point and shoot." Jonathan told her as he handed her the gun.

"I don't think my parents ever loved each other." Nancy admitted.

"They must've married for some reason."

Nancy held the gun out in front of her. "My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac... and started their nuclear family."

"Screw that." Jonathan muttered.

"Yup." Cat agreed, starting to itch for a cigarette.

"Yeah. Screw that." Nancy squinted, aiming the gun at the cans. She fired the gun, hitting the beer can straight off the tree stump. The can clattered to the floor as the teens chuckled.

"Woo! Go Nancy!" Catherine cheered. Now there was two of them that could fire the weapons at the creature.

***

"You never said what I was saying." Nancy told Jonathan as the three teens walked through the woods.

"What?"

"Yesterday. You said I was saying something and that's why you took my picture."

"Oh, uh... I don't know. My guess... I saw this girl, you know, trying to be someone else. But for that moment.... it was like you were alone, or you thought you were." Jonathan explained. "And, you know, you could just be yourself."

It was quiet for a moment. Catherine flipped the gun in her hands, once she made sure the safety was on- she didn't want to accidentally shoot either of her friends.

"That is such bullshit." Nancy spoke. Catherine's gaze moved from the leaf-covered ground to her friend.

"What?" Jonathan stammered, stopping in his tracks for a moment.

Nancy turned to him, taking a few steps towards him as she had walked slightly ahead. "I am not trying to be someone else. Just because I'm dating Steve and you don't like him-"

"Well, he is a douchebag." Catherine muttered, watching as Jonathan started walking past Nancy.

"You know what? Forget it. I just thought it was a good picture."

"He's actually a good guy." Nancy called out to Jonathan as she ran to catch up with him and Catherine who was ahead of both of them.

"Okay."

"Yeah sure." Cat rolled her eyes. "A good looking guy." She mumbled, hoping Nancy wouldn't hear.

"Yesterday, with the camera... He's not like that at all." Nancy continued to defend Steve. "He was just being protective."

"Well, there's other ways to do it." Cat muttered, coming to a stop when she realised her friends had stopped walking.

"Yeah, exactly. Protective's one word for it." Jonathan started walking again, swinging the baseball bat.

"Oh, and I guess what you did was okay?"

"No, I... I never said that."

"He had every right to be pissed-"

"Okay, all right. Does that mean I have to like him?" Jonathan stopped, turning around to Nancy.

"No."

"Listen, don't take it personally, okay? I don't like most people. He's in the vast majority."

"Guys, come on." Catherine called from up ahead, trying to stop her friends arguing. "You do want to find this thing, don't you?"

Jonathan started walking towards where Catherine stood with her hands on her hips and an annoyed expression covering her face, but stopped when Nancy started talking again.

"You know, I was actually starting to think that you were okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I was thinking, 'Jonathan Byers, maybe he's not the pretentious creep everyone says he is.'"

"Can we not do this right now, guys!" Catherine called out.

"Well, I was just starting to think you were okay." Jonathan ignored Cat's pleading of them to stop arguing, walking up to Nancy.

"Oh." Nancy breathed out, barely audible.

"I was just thinking, 'Nancy Wheeler, she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does... until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now, hey, they get it.'" Jonathan walked away from the girl, continuing the trek through the woods.

Nancy scoffed, following after a moment. She fell in line with Cat who was staring intensely at the forest floor. "You know you're both idiots, right? You couldn't wait and save arguing with each other until after we killed this thing, could you?"

***

The sun had now set and so the three teens had gotten their torches out of their bags. The torches let out just enough light for them to see where they were going. A indistinct whimper broke the silence between the teens. Both Nancy and Cat stopped walking, their ears listening out for the sound. Jonathan continued walking for a moment, tuning around once he noticed that the girls had stopped.

"What, are you two tired?"

Cat scoffed. "No."

"Shut up." Nancy told them, looking off in the distant.

"What?"

"I heard something."

Catherine nodded. "Me too. Glad to know I'm not actually going crazy, despite what Tommy and Carol may think."

The whimper was heard again. Cat's head whipped around to the direction of the sound, her ponytail hitting her round the face.

The group walked towards the sound, the whimpering growing louder the closer they approached the noise. The light from the torches fell on the source of the whimpering; a dying deer.

"Oh, God." Nancy quietly let out as she knelt down next to the animal who continued whimpering.

"I think I might be sick." Cat whispered, turning her face away from the animal.

Jonathan sighed as he crouched down just behind Nancy.

Nancy gently reached out to the deer, lightly resting her hand on one of its front legs. "It's been hit by a car." She shook her head slightly. "We can't just leave it." She turned her head towards Jonathan and Cat, who held a hand over her mouth, afraid of throwing up in front of her two friends.

It was silent for a minute as Nancy looked at the gun in her hand, hesitant to shoot the poor animal.

"I'll do it." Jonathan told her, holding his hand out for the gun.

"I thought you said-"

"I'm not nine anymore." He said, taking the gun from her hand. The two stood up, Nancy holding the torch, the light shining over the animal. Cat moved over to Nancy and hid her face in the girl's shoulder.

Catherine felt Nancy wrap an arm around her as Jonathan cocked the gun, aiming it at the deer. He was breathing heavily, nervous about what he was about to do. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the deer was pulled away. Both Nancy and Jonathan jumped backwards and Cat lifted her head away from her friend's shoulder to see what was happening, letting out a small scream at the sight in front of her. The three gasped, not sure what was going on.

"What was that?" Nancy asked, the light from the torch shining over the trail of blood from the deer. The teens started following the trail of blood.

Cat stopped walking for a second, taking her shoes off her feet. Unlike the others, she hadn't gotten changed out of her funeral attire and therefore had still been wearing heels all day. Her feet hurt like mad and she was surprised she hadn't fallen over in them yet. As she followed Jonathan and Nancy she realised her now bare feet were stepping in mud and now deer blood and she started gagging at the thought.

Jonathan turned around. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"If walking barefoot through animal blood and dirt counts for being okay, then I'm just peachy."

Jonathan waited for the shorter girl to catch up before crouching down and allowing her to climb onto his back; he was going to give her a piggyback through the woods. She held onto her black heels as Jonathan started walking again, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"Where'd it go?" Nancy asked, looking around. The trail had suddenly stopped but the deer was nowhere in sight.

Cat jumped down from Jonathan's back, swinging her heels in one hand and holding her gun in the other. To tell the truth, she was scared. Scared about the unknown creature that was lurking in the dark somewhere, scared about what really happened to Barb; if she was alive or not. She didn't want to admit she was scared, so she attempted to look brave. But anyone who looked into her eyes would see the fear, the fear that her friend was well and truly gone and not coming back.

"I don't know." Jonathan answered Nancy's question, holding both his torch and the gun in his hand, trying to spot where the deer had been taken to. "Do you see anymore blood?"

"No." Both girls answered.

Cat looked over at Nancy to see she was staring at a hole in a tree. She walked over and stood next to her friend, seeing that the tree had some weird liquid dripping from it.

"Ew. What is that?" Cat whispered, dropping her heels onto the forest floor.

Nancy took a couple of steps forward, her torch shining on the tree. She dropped the baseball bat to the floor as she walked closer towards it. Crouching down in front of the hole, she reached out to touch whatever was dripping from the tree.

"Jonathan?" She called out as Cat sat on the ground next to her. The girls both turned around, not seeing Jonathan anywhere. Cat watched as her friend took the bag off her back and placed it on the floor behind her. She watched as Nancy began to crawl through the hole in the tree.

Cat sighed. "Really, Nance?" She watched as her friend completely disappeared. Catherine sighed again, placing her gun and her handbag on the forest floor before she began to crawl through after Nancy. "This is some 'Alice In Wonderland' shit." She muttered to herself.

Once she had crawled through, she stood up, feeling the weird liquid in her hair and on her hands. She spotted Nancy and walked over to her, seeing she was staring at something, her eyes wide. Cat followed her gaze to see the deer being eaten by some monster. Cat gasped, grabbing Nancy's hand that wasn't holding the torch.

The girls slowly took a step back, Nancy's foot stepping on a twig and snapping it. The monster roared, turning towards them. It's face opened up like a flower opens it's petals, although this was so much scarier than a stupid flower. Cat screamed, spotting the sharp teeth in the monster's mouth. The girls turned around and ran, screaming. They didn't hear Jonathan calling out for them back in the normal world.

***

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	15. THIRTEEN; The Monster

"Jonathan!" Nancy yelled as she ran, Catherine running slightly behind her. "Jonathan! Jonathan, we're right here!" She screamed, walking around in circles, trying to work out where Jonathan was and how they could get out of this place.

"Nancy! Catherine!" Cat heard Jonathan yell, but she couldn't work out where his voice was coming from.

Catherine ran after Nancy who was yelling, "Jonathan, where are you?"

"Jonathan!" Both girls yelled out, breathing heavily.

"Jonathan!" Nancy continued yelling. "We're right... We're right here!"

"Just follow my voice!" Jonathan's voice called.

Both girls were panting and Cat could feel her chest tightening and she gripped tightly onto Nancy's hand.

Nancy began to run, pulling Catherine along with her. The taller girl continued to call out to Jonathan, wanting to get herself and her friend out of there as quick as possible.

"Follow my voice," Jonathan's voice could be heard again in the distance. "Nancy, Cat, I'm right here!"

Nancy's heard turned from right to left, trying to figure out what direction Jonathan's voice was coming from.

"Nancy! Catherine!"

The girls turned to see the monster standing a few metres away from them. It snarled at them and Nancy gasped while Cat let out an ear splitting scream. Nancy tugged on Cat's hand, pulling her away from the creature as she began to run.

The two girls hid behind a tree, both breathing heavily as they heard the growling of the monster not that far from them. They held their breath as they heard the horrid creature pass near the tree they stood behind.

The girls heard Jonathan's voice again. "Nancy! Catherine! Follow my voice."

The girls turned their heads in the direction of his voice, spotting a hole in one of the trees, like the one they originally came through. The monster growled again, this time seeming closer to them. Nancy turned her head towards Cat, gripping the girl's hand tighter.

Cat gulped, not believing the words that were about to leave her mouth. She wanted Nancy to get out safely and the only way she believed they hand a chance was through what she was about to suggest. But she had to be brave, she needed to be. She cared so much more about her friend's life than her own. So she whispered her plan to Nancy.

"I'll distract it while you run back to that weird portal thing and crawl back through."

Nancy shook her head, her grip on Cat's hand tightening. "What? No. No. I'm not letting you put your life on the line. I can't lose you too. I can't lose my best friend."

"It's the only way for us to do this, otherwise we both die and we both get stuck here."

The monster let out another growl causing the girls to jump.

"When I say run, you run."

Nancy nodded.

Cat poked her head around the tree seeing the creature with its back to them. She looked back at Nancy, tightening her grip on her hand briefly before letting go. "Thanks for being one of my best friends and always having my back." She stepped out from behind the tree, Nancy watching her with a terrified and worried look on her face, she didn't want to lose another friend. Cat sent Nancy a salute before catching the attention of the monster. "Hey! Weird, ugly, flower monster!" The creature turned around and snarled at her. "It's dinner time, baby!" Catherine turned around and ran as fast as her legs would allow her, not waiting to see the creature open it's mouth as it stood at it's full height. It began running after her and once Nancy's coast was clear, Cat screamed at her to run.

Catherine ran, trying not to steer herself too far from the only exit, but far enough that Nancy could escape without the monster realising.

She didn't see Nancy get pulled out by Jonathan or hear them calling out for her, begging her to crawl through the hole. She didn't notice her feet becoming cut up from the broken tree branches. She didn't see the fallen tree and tripped, falling flat on her face. She rolled onto her back, seeing the monster looming over her. It roared, its face opening up as it's saliva dripped onto her face. It sat back on its hind legs, roaring as it clawed at her. Catherine screamed as a claw came into contact with her face. She lifter her arms up to push it away but it kept on attacking her. She screamed, blood dripping down her face and arm. She kicked it off of her, her hands finding a sharp rock by her head. She picked it up, hitting the monster with it. The creature was distracted for a moment, but it was long enough for Catherine to escape it's grasp. Adrenaline fuelled her as she ran, not noticing that her leg was twisted slightly from where she had fallen. She sprinted towards the tree, feeling the monster behind her. She was almost there. Cat could see the weird portal starting to close, her friends screaming from the other side of it for her to hurry. Catherine dove through the hole, barely making it before the portal closed, the tree looking completely normal.

She landed on the ground, her breathing heavy. The adrenaline was wearing off and Cat could feel the pain shooting up her leg. She sat up, tears starting to form as she saw how messed up her leg was. Jonathan crawled over to her, pulling her gently into his arms as she cried. Nancy ripped off part of her shirt, wrapping it around Cat's arm to stop the bleeding before wrapping her own arms around her friend.

***

Catherine laid in her bed that night, unable to fall asleep. Once they'd left the forest, Nancy and Jonathan had taken Cat straight to the hospital where she had gotten stitches across her face and down her arm and had her leg put in a cast. She had broken it when she tripped over the tree. The doctors and nurses had asked what had happened to the girl and in her shocked state she had barely managed to get out an answer, so Jonathan and Nancy lied and told them it was a bear. If they had told the truth no one would have believed them, so it was better to lie.

Cat broke down in tears, she couldn't stop thinking about that place. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was that monster towering over her. Jonathan was with Nancy. He had offered to stay with her, but Catherine turned him down believing that it was better for her to be alone. But she was wrong. She needed someone to hold her, comfort her. Someone to take the pain away.

She didn't realise how loud her sobs were until her door opened and her brother entered her room.

"You okay? Mom says you got attacked by a bear." Dustin sat next to Cat on the bed, helping her when she tried to sit up.

She let out a dry laugh. "That... that thing was no bear."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cat shook her head, no. "But I don't want to sleep, either. So, why don't you tell me about your day? Anything interesting?"

Dustin smiled and began to tell his sister about how the girl they had found the other day, El, had superpowers and she was basically a Jedi. Catherine smiled, the conversation taking her mind off of the day's events and the pain she was in.

***

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	16. FOURTEEN; The Monster

The next morning, Dustin cycled to the Wheeler's house, Catherine sitting on the back of his bike holding her crutches. Dustin went to the basement while Cat hobbled up the stairs to Nancy's room. She knocked on the door, nearly falling over when she removed one hand from her crutches.

"Who is it?" Nancy called out.

"Um, it's Cat." Cat heard her friend's footsteps approach the door and when Nancy opened it Cat immediately made a beeline for the bed, Nancy helping her.

"How are you holding up?" Jonathan asked as Cat laid her head on Nancy's pillows.

"It's barely been a day. But you know, other than having like a thousand stitches and not being able to walk and getting like no sleep, I'm good."

Nancy sat next down on her bed and placed a pillow under the girl's broken leg to prop it up. "You couldn't sleep either?"

"Haha, nope. I made Dustin stay up all night with me and we watched movies all night. Because every time I closed my eyes I-"

Nancy cut her off. "Kept seeing that... thing?" Catherine nodded. "Me too. Wherever we were, that place... I think that it lives there."

Catherine slowly sat up, Jonathan helping her. She leaned on him and he placed an arm around her, making sure she didn't fall off the bed as she was near the edge. "Uh huh. Makes sense. It was, it was feeding there."

Nancy nodded. "Feeding on that deer. That means that if..." She inhaled deeply. "if Will and Barbara..." She trailed off, looking as if she was about to cry.

Catherine leaned over, placing a hand on Nancy's leg as an attempt to comfort her. The girl placed her own hand over Cat's, squeezing it slightly.

"Hey." Jonathan leaned towards Nancy, moving Cat slightly so that she could still be comfortable. The girl laid down so that her head was near Nancy, her leg still being propped up by a pillow. "My mom said she talked to Will." Jonathan said. "If he's alive, there's a chance Barbara is, too."

"That means that she's trapped... in that place." Nancy pointed out. "We have to find it again."

"What?!" Catherine asked. "You're crazy."

"You wanna go back out there?" Jonathan asked her.

"Maybe we don't have to." Cat and Jonathan stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "When Cat and I saw it, it was feeding on that deer. Meaning it's.. it's a predator, right?"

"Right." Jonathan confirmed as Cat nodded.

"And it seems to hunt at night, like a... a lion or a coyote." She turned through the pages of one of the books that were sat in front of her. "But it doesn't hunt in packs like them. It's always alone, like... like a bear. And remember at Steve's, when Barb cut herself?" Cat and Jonathan nodded. "And then, last night, the deer..."

"Hmm, it was bleeding, too." Jonathan finished as Cat nodded.

"One sec." Nancy went through her books, some of which Cat was leaning on and so had to lift her head in order for her friend to find the book she was looking for. She pulled the book of sharks from underneath Cat's head and placed it on top of the one with the lions. "Sharks can detect blood in one part per million. That's one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter mile away."

"So you're saying it can detect blood?" Both Jonathan and Cat asked at the same time, sharing a look as they did so.

"It's just a theory." Nancy said, her voice quiet.

"We could test it." Nancy and Catherine nodded. "But if it works..."

"At least we'll know it's coming."

The door rattled and Cat nearly let out a shriek as she scrambled to sit up on the bed.

"Honey, are you up?" Mrs. Wheeler's voice called through the door and the teens let out a sigh knowing it was just her.

"Yeah, Cat and I are just finishing some homework."

"I, uh, made some blueberry pancakes. Cat's welcome to have some too."

"We'll be down in a second."

Nancy sighed as they heard her mother's footsteps walk away from the door. Both Jonathan and Nancy looked down to see their hands intertwined and quickly pulled their hands away from each other.

"Your mom doesn't knock?" Jonathan asked after a moment of silence. The three teens let out a small chuckle.

***

Jonathan, Nancy and Catherine were in a store buying stuff to trap and kills this monster. As Cat was unable to pick stuff up she followed behind Nancy on her crutches, pointing out anything that might be useful.

Cat stood next to the counter as both Jonathan and Nancy piled the stuff in front of the clerk; including bear traps, hammers, gasoline and nails. By the look on the clerk's face, they looked absolutely crazy purchasing what they were.

"And I'll have four boxes of the .38s." Jonathan said, talking about the bullets that were behind the counter. Cat just smiled at the man as he looked at them like they were crazy.

"What you kids doin' with all this?" He asked, placing the boxes on the counter.

"Um.." Jonathan turned to Nancy, not sure what to say.

"Monster hunting." She said simply.

"Huh." The man scoffed.

"Yup. We're going to kill the monster that did this to me." Cat pointed to the long cut down her arm and face.

***

"'Monster hunting'?" Jonathan asked as both he and Nancy carried the boxes of stuff to his car, Cat just behind them on her crutches.

"You know, last week..." Nancy started as she and Jonathan began to load the car's trunk. "I was shopping with for a new top I thought Steve might like. It took me, Cat and Barb all weekend."

"It was fun though." Cat interjected, smiling. "And the tops I brought have yet to be covered in paint from my artwork."

"Yeah. It seemed like life or death, you know? And... and now-"

"You're shopping for bear traps with Jonathan Byers."

"Yeah." Nancy said as Jonathan closed the trunk of his car.

"What's the weirdest part?" Jonathan asked. "Me or the bear trap?"

"You. It's definitely you."

"I was gonna say the fact that I got attacked by a fucking monster, but whatever." Cat laughed.

A car horn caught the teen's attention. "Hey, Nance!" Someone called from a red car. "Can't wait to see your movie." The boy laughed, before whistling in Cat's direction. "Hope you make an appearance, Henderson." The car drove away and Cat frowned in confusion.

"What the hell was that?" Jonathan asked as Cat threw her middle finger up at the car full of boys, leaning on Jonathan's car for support while she did so.

"I don't know." Nancy turned around and began walking away.

"What?" Jonathan asked as Cat tried to keep up with her friend. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Jonathan began to follow Nancy down the street, Catherine desperately trying to keep up with the two of them.

"Nancy, wait!" The tall boy called out, picking up Cat so she didn't get left behind. She thanked him for doing so. He followed Nancy across the street to the movie theatre, placing Cat back on her feet.

The sign read _'All The Right Moves starring Nancy The Slut Wheeler. Featuring: Catherine Psycho Henderson'._

Cat gasped in shock. "No way. Who the fuck did this?"

"Jesus." Jonathan breathed out, not sure what to say.

Cat heard laughing from around the corner and the sound of a spray can hissing and Nancy did too, the two girls making their way to the alleyway, Cat slightly slower than Nancy.

"Tommy, you write like a three-year-old." Catherine heard Carol's voice as she tried to keep up with her friend.

"Shut up!" Tommy yelled.

Cat caught up with Nancy and saw who she was staring at. She wasn't surprised at who she saw. "Of fucking course." She muttered under her breath.

Tommy was spraying something on the wall while Carol, Nicole and Steve watched him.

"I didn't know you could spell." Nicole told him.

Cat watched as Nancy made her way towards the group. She followed, wanting to make sure her friend was alright, which she clearly wasn't.

Carol caught sight of the girls, her focus on Nancy. "Aw, hey there, princess!"

"Uh-oh! She looks upset."

"Shut up, Tommy!" Cat yelled, standing behind her friend and leaning on her crutches. They all watched as Nancy walked up to Steve and slapped him round the face.

"Oh!" and "Damn!" were heard from Carol, Nicole and Tommy.

"What is wrong with you?" Nancy asked Steve, her words seething with anger.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? I was worried about you."

"Bullshit. Absolute bullshit." Cat scoffed, stepping forward to stand next to Nancy.

"I can't believe that I was actually worried about you." Steve scoffed.

"What are you talking about?" Nancy yelled.

"I wouldn't lie if I were you." Carol said. "You wouldn't want to be known as the lying slut now, do you?"

"Oh, fuck off, Carol!" Catherine yelled. "No one asked you."

"Don't talk to her like that." Tommy jumped down from where he was standing, shoving Cat as he did so. She fell backwards and Jonathan was quick to catch her, helping her back to her feet. "Speak of the devil." Tommy said as his eyes landed on the boy.

Nancy turned back to Steve, tears in her eyes as she understood what he was getting at. "You came by last night?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Cat sent daggers at Nicole, wanting to just punch her in her stupid face.

"Does she get a prize?" Carol asked sarcastically, wrapping an arm around Tommy. Cat glared at her too.

"Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but it wasn't like that." Nancy told them, her focus on Steve.

"Yeah, exactly. Nancy wouldn't cheat on you. In fact, it's way more likely that you'd cheat on Nancy than she'd cheat on you!" Catherine cried, shoving Steve's shoulder back slightly.

Nancy pulled Catherine back before she did something more than just shoving Steve. Steve wanted to glare at the small brunette, but he couldn't bring himself to glare at her so he settled for ignoring her completely.

"What, you just let him into your room to... study?" Steve asked bitterly, glaring at Jonathan.

"Or for another pervy photo session?" Tommy laughed. Cat let go of her crutches, the only things keeping her upright, and hobbled over to Tommy, throwing her fist and landing a hit on his nose- breaking it with a loud crack. Jonathan pulled her back before she could hit him again.

"We were just-" Nancy started but Steve cut her off.

"You were just what? Finish that sentence." He stepped closer to her, looking down at her. "Finish the sentence."

Nancy breathed heavily, trying to work out what to say.

Steve scoffed. "Go to hell, Nancy." He stepped back, leaving Nancy looking like she was about to cry.

Jonathan stepped forward, grabbing her arm, as Cat leaned against a wooden crate. "Come on, Nancy, let's just leave."

"You know what, Byers?" Steve stepped towards Jonathan. "I'm actually kind of impressed." He pushed the tall boy. "I always took you for a queer, but I guess you're just a little screw-up like your father." Jonathan and Nancy tried to walk away, the latter helping Cat with her crutches. Steve grabbed the back of Jonathan's jacket, shoving the boy forward. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that house is full of screw-ups." He shoved Jonathan again. "You know, I guess I shouldn't really be surprised." Both Nancy and Cat turned around, Cat seething with anger, ready to punch the boy in the face, whether or not she has a crush on him. "A bunch of screw-ups in your family." Steve continued.

"Harrington," Cat hopped forward on her crutches, glaring at the tall boy. It would have been slightly menacing, except for the fact that she was tiny and her balance was all over the place. "Do you ever know when to stop."

"Jonathan, leave it." Nancy warned as she pulled gently on Cat's sleeve to stop the girl away from Steve. She could sense that one of her two friends were close to throwing a punch.

"I mean, your mom... I'm not even surprised what happened to your brother." Steve continued.

"Steve, shut up!" Nancy demanded, the same time that Cat yelled, "Shut up, Harrington." She was pissed. She felt like she was apart of the Byers family, Joyce often calling her the daughter she never had, and so she was ready to punch Steve in the face, her hands balling into fists as she let go of her crutches.

"I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you," Steve continued, riling up Jonathan even more, "but the Byers, their family, it's a disgrace to the entire-" He was cut off by Jonathan whirling around and punching him in the face, sending him flying into some of the wooden crates. He got back up, running at Jonathan as the two sent punches at one another. Nancy calling out to them for them to stop.

Cat took this opportunity to painfully hobble over to Tommy H. and punch him the face, breaking what was left of his nose. He punched her back, sending her to the floor. Cat tried to get up, but with a broken leg it was pretty difficult. Before Nancy could even help her, Tommy sent a kick into Catherine's ribcage. She grabbed his leg, pulling him down to the concrete floor. He scrambled to his feet as the other two stopped fighting. Cat glanced up to see the cops pull up behind the two groups.

Cat felt herself being lifted up by one of the policemen, her eyes not looking away from Tommy, Carol, Nicole and Steve as they ran. She pulled her elbow back, smacking the cop that held her right in the nose, breaking it. "Oh! My nose!" Callahan yelled as he tightened his grip on Catherine, pulling her towards the police car. He pushed her down onto the hood of the car, locking handcuffs around her wrists.

"Get off me!" She screamed, her good leg kicking him where the sun don't shine. Both herself and Jonathan were shoved into the back of the car while Nancy stood there, absolutely distraught as the others fled the scene.

***

_Edited: 5/4/2020_


	17. FIFTEEN; The Monster

Cat sat in the police station as Callahan contacted Chief Hopper of his radio. "Hey, Chief, you there? Hey, Chief?"

 _"Yeah, go ahead."_ Cat heard Hopper speak through the radio.

"Yeah, a fight broke out here and-"

_"Cal, I don't have time for this."_

"It's Jonathan Byers and Catherine Henderson. The little shit who stole my gun a few weeks back. You haven't seen Joyce, have you?"

Catherine rolled her eyes. "It's not really a big deal. You weren't using it and I figured that you wouldn't miss it, so..." Callahan cut her sentence short by yelling at her to shut up.

***

"Do you think we'll be out of here soon?" Nancy asked the receptionist as she got some ice from the freezer for Jonathan's face and Cat's ribcage.

"You, yes. Your friends, no." She answered simply, wrapping the ice in a dishcloth. "They assaulted a police officer."

"Well, how long are you gonna keep them?"

"You, your girlfriend and your boyfriend have big plans, do you?"

"He's not my boyfriend and she's definitely not my girlfriend. We're just friends."

"I think you better tell them that."

"What?"

"Only love makes you that crazy, sweetheart." She handed Nancy the ice. "And that damn stupid."

Nancy sighed, taking the ice from the lady. She walked back over to where her two friends were handcuffed to a table. She took a seat in between them, placing some ice on Cat's ribcage. "Found some ice." She stated, placing the other lot of ice on Jonathan's face.

"Thanks." Jonathan said as Cat sighed, nodding her head slightly in thanks.

"Everything okay?" Jonathan asked as Nancy looked down at the floor and Cat rested her head on the table- bored and in pain.

"Yeah." Nancy's gaze moved from the floor to Jonathan, her hand holding the ice in place. "Everything's fine."

"Maybe for you at least, but Tommy can really kick hard." Cat took a sharp intake of breath. "Because damn does it hurt when I breathe."

Nancy frowned. "That's not good, like at all. You should really go to the hospital."

Catherine shrugged, grimacing in pain as she did so.

***

**A/N:**

_Ugh, again this is a short chapter and it's complete crap so I apologise for that. I didn't intend for it to be this short but right now I'm too tired to edit it so it's longer._

_Edited: 6/4/2020_


	18. SIXTEEN; The Bathtub

Cat looked up as Joyce and Hopper walked into the police station.

"Hey." Joyce said, sounding annoyed. "Jonathan? Catherine? Jesus, what... what happened?"

"I'm fine." Jonathan told her.

Cat let out a breathy laugh, holding her ribcage. Her broken leg was propped up on a chair. "If you call a possible broken rib fine, then I'm just peachy."

"Why are they wearing handcuffs?" Joyce asked Callahan.

"Well your boy and Miss Henderson here assaulted police officers. She," He pointed an accusing finger at Cat, "broke my nose, kicked me in the balls and, like I told you Chief, stole my gun a few weeks ago. That's why."

Catherine tilted her head back and laughed, for some reason finding this all very ridiculous. She was slightly loopy due to the pain medication she had been given. Both Hopper and her friends gave her weird looks.

"Take them off." Joyce demanded.

"I am afraid I cannot do that." Callahan told her.

"Take them off!" Joyce yelled at him.

"You heard her. Take 'em off." Hopper said to Callahan.

"Chief, I get everyone's emotional here, but there's something you need to see." Powell spoke up, leading him out of the room.

The Chief and the two police officers came back into the room, placing the large box of bear traps, boxes of bullets, lighter fluid and all the other things the teens had bought onto the table in front of them.

"What is this?" Joyce asked, going through the box.

"Why don't you ask your son? We found it in his car." Hopper told her.

"What?" Joyce's head snapped towards her son.

"Why are you going through my car?" Jonathan asked them.

"Yeah, dipshits, why are you going through a car that's not yours." Cat argued.

"You're one to talk." Callahan told her. "The amount of times we've caught you for stealing..." He trailed off as Hopper told him to cut it out.

"Is that really the question you should be asking right now?" Hopper asked Jonathan, leaning forward on the desk. "I wanna see you in my office."

"Ooh, someone's in trouble." Cat giggled. "I don't know why I'm laughing, I'm also in trouble."

"You won't believe me." Jonathan told him.

"Why don't you give me a try?"

***

Cat, Nancy and Jonathan were sat in Hopper's office, watching as he and Joyce looked at the photo of the monster they had encountered.

"You say blood draws this thing?" Hopper asked the teens who sat looking nervously at the adults.

"We don't know." Jonathan admitted.

"It's just a theory." Nancy added and Cat nodded.

"Oh and I might have ruined your black dress and lost your shoes in the woods, so I'm sorry." Joyce sent the girl a small smile, telling her that it was fine before she walked into the hallway to speak to Jonathan.

***

Cat sat on the hood of the car while Hopper looked through the binoculars, watching the men who were after Eleven and The Party.

"I have to go home." Nancy told Hopper while leaning on the car door.

"No, you can't." He told her simply.

"My mom... my dad are there."

"They're gonna be okay." Hopper tried to reassure her, not moving away from the binoculars.

Cat squinted and saw one of the men carrying a box with the Dungeons and Dragons game inside. She groaned. "Oh, man! Not the D&D game." She pouted.

Nancy walked round the car towards her house.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Hopper grabbed her arm, stopping her from going any further.

"Let go." Nancy demanded. "Let go!" She tried to shake him off of her.

"Hey! Listen to me. Listen to me." Hopper bent down slightly so he was eye level with her. "The last thing in the world we need is them knowing you're mixed up in all this."

"Mike is over there-" She yelled, getting emotional.

"They haven't found him." Hopper told her, his voice loud. "Not yet at least." He pointed to a helicopter that was flying overhead.

"For Mike?" Nancy questioned as Hopper started dragging her towards the car.

"Come on, get in the car." Hopper told her as Joyce helped Catherine into the backseat.

Once they were all in the car- Nancy, Jonathan and Cat all squished together in the backseat- Hopper and Joyce turned in their seats to face them.

"Look, we need to find them before they do." Hopper stated. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" He asked Nancy, but also Catherine, knowing she usually had an idea where they went.

"No, I don't."

"I need you to think. Cat, what about you?"

"Well, I'm not 100% in their Party so they don't tell me everything. I'm just.... I'm like their mom. I make sure they don't do anything too stupid."

Hopper sighed.

"I don't know. We haven't talked a lot." Nancy told him. "I mean, lately..." She sighed.

"Is there any place that your... your parents don't know about that he might go?" Joyce asked Nancy, knowing that Cat was still a bit loopy from the pain medication and so wouldn't give any helpful answers.

"I don't know." Nancy stuttered.

"I might." Jonathan spoke, everyone turning their heads towards him.

"What?" Hopper asked him.

"I don't know where he is, but I think I know how to ask him."

***

The car pulled up outside the Byers's house and everyone climbed out, racing inside. Joyce and Jonathan helped Cat as her crutches had been left in the alleyway. Once inside the house they headed straight for Will's room. Nancy stopped in the living room for a moment, looking at the mess before following behind Hopper.

Jonathan opened Will's door, sitting Cat on the bed before starting to look for the walkie-talkie in the drawers on Will's desk. Joyce dove under the bed, calling out an "I got it."

She grabbed the walkie-talkie and pulled herself out from under the bed. She handed it to Nancy who spoke into the walkie-talkie to Mike and the others while taking a seat next to Cat.

"Mike, are you there? Mike?" She asked, not getting a response. "Mike, it's me, Nancy. Mike, are you there?"

Hopper shook his head. "He's not picking up."

Cat grabbed the walkie-talkie from her friend and spoke into. "All right you little shits, listen up. It's Catherine. I might be slightly high from my pain medication but it's still me so you dipshits better listen up." She took a painful breath, placing one hand on her rib. "We need to know where you are. It's an emergency guys. A code fucking red! I swear to God if you don't fucking answer I'm gonna kill you myself instead of those people who are after you. Like, they took the D&D game and everything. Please just fucking pick up-" She was cut off as Hopper took the walkie-talkie from her hand.

"Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up." He spoke. "We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl. We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over."

Cat sighed, running a hand down her face. They weren't getting an answer. Hopper sighed, placing the walkie-talkie down on the shelf. "Anybody got any other ideas?"

 _"Yeah, I copy."_ Mike's voice came through the walkie-talkie. _"It's Mike. I'm here. We're here."_

"Oh, my God!" Cat cried, grabbing the object from Hopper's hands once he picked it back up from the shelf. "You're alive!" She cried into it. "Jesus, you had us scared halfway to hell. What have I told you guys about picking up when I need you to?"

_"Sorry Cat, we weren't sure it was you guys."_

_"Wait. Did she say she was high on pain medication? What the hell happened now?"_ Lucas' voice was heard, although distant.

"Doesn't matter. I'll explain later. Just tell me where the fuck you are!"

The three teens and two adults learned that the kids were hiding in a rundown school bus in the junkyard.

"Do you know where that is?" Hopper asked Cat.

"Oh, yeah." She nodded. "I could take you there with my eyes closed." She thought for a moment. "But not really because I'd probably fall and break my leg, again."

***

_Edited: 6/4/2020_


	19. SEVENTEEN; The Bathtub

Catherine sat on the couch with her head on Joyce's shoulder. The four of them were sat waiting for Hopper to come back with the kids. Cat wanted to go with him but he insisted that she stay because of her leg and the stiches that covered both her face and arm. They all stood up as headlights lit up the room, Joyce's arm around Cat to support her. The front door opened as they all raced out into the front garden, seeing the kids climb out the car.

"Mike." Nancy cried, racing towards her brother. "Oh, my God. Mike!" She wrapped her arms around him.

Cat slowly walked forward towards Dustin. "Jesus, you guys fucking scared me." Dustin hurried towards her, worried she would fall over. The two wrapped theirs arm around each other and Cat began to softly cry into his hair. She let go and carefully made her way over to Eleven, wrapping the small girl in a tight hug.

"What happened?" the young girl quietly asked, her eyes glancing over all of Catherine's injuries.

"Yeah. Catherine, holy shit. What happened to you?" Lucas asked the older girl as he walked up to her. She laughed, pulling the smaller boy into a hug.

"I got attacked by a fucking interdimensional monster while trying to save myself and Nancy."

"And that's funny to you?" Lucas questioned her, pulling himself away from the teen.

"Well she did say she was drugged up on pain meds." Dustin shrugged.

Nancy pulled away from Mike, her eyes moving over to Eleven. "Is that my dress?" She asked.

***

Mike held up a piece of paper which showed his drawing he was using to explain the other dimension, or 'Upside Down' as the kids called it, to the adults and teens.

"Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat." He pointed to the stick person he had drawn standing on a line. "Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're this flea." He pointed to the small dot on the paper. "And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding."

Cat, who was sat on the floor in front of Joyce with her broken leg resting on the coffee table, looked up at the woman to see if she understood any of what they had just heard. She looked just as confused as Catherine felt.

"Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space." Mike continued explaining.

"A gate." Dustin added.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab." Lucas told them as Cat's eyebrows raised.

"With our compasses." Dustin added.

"So that's what they're doing over there." She muttered. "No wonder I couldn't get work experience over there last year."

There was silence while Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy and Cat all stared at them in confusion, trying to process the new information.

"Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle." Dustin explained. Catherine nodded at her brother as if she understood, but she hadn't really been paying attention. Her pain meds had started to dial down, making her more normal, but also letting her feel the pain of her broken leg again and that's all she could think of. She let out a small whimper of pain and Joyce put her hand on her head, running her fingers through the teen's hair to try and comfort her.

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked from where he sat in the armchair.

"Yes." Eleven told him, her voice quiet.

"Near a large water tank?" He asked the small girl.

"Yes." She nodded.

"How do you know all that?" Dustin stuttered.

Hopper didn't answer but Mike understood. "He's seen it."

"He's what?" Cat asked, looking at the people in the room, her confusion evident on her face.

"Is there any way that you could..." Joyce started, looking at Eleven. "That you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this-"

"The Upside Down." El finished the woman's sentence.

"Down." Joyce whispered, her fingers still running through Catherine's hair. "Yeah."

Eleven nodded.

"And Catherine and I's friend Barbara?" Nancy asked, the first time she had spoken in a while. "Can you find her, too?"

***

The group gathered around the kitchen table, Cat, Joyce and Mike being the only two other than Eleven to be sat down. On the table in front of the girl lay the most recent photo they had of Barb and one of the kids' walkie-talkies. Static emitted from the walkie-talkie and Catherine watched as it increased. She was so nervous about the whole thing, but she couldn't light a cigarette so she nervously bit her nails instead. They all looked up as the lights began to flicker and the static faded. El opened her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Joyce asked, her hand gripping onto Jonathan's. "What's wrong?" She stuttered. "What happened?"

Eleven's voice broke. "I can't find them."

***

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak." Mike explained to them while El used the bathroom.

"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets." Dustin added.

"Like, she flipped the van earlier." Lucas told them.

"It was awesome."

"But she's drained." Mike told the others.

"Like a bad battery." Dustin pointed out.

"Well..." Joyce stuttered. "How do we make her better?"

"We don't. We just have to wait and try again." Mike answered.

"Well, how long?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know."

"Ugh." Cat groaned. "How is that helpful?"

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Lucas asked.

"I just want my damn cast of my leg!" She cried. "And maybe my leg to heal quicker because it hurts like hell!"

Eleven's voice came from the hallway. "The bath." Everyone turned to face her.

"What?" Joyce asked softly.

"I can find them. In the bath." the young girl explained.

***

"Mr. Clarke?" Dustin spoke into the phone. "It's Dustin." It was quiet while Dustin listened to the teacher speak into the receiver. "Yeah, yeah. I just, I... I have a science question."

 _"It's ten o'clock on Saturday."_ Cat barely heard the teacher's voice through the receiver. _"Why don't we pick this up-"_

Dustin cut him off. "Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one?"

 _"Sensory deprivation?"_ Mr. Clarke stuttered. _"What is this for?"_

"Fun." Dustin stated as if it were obvious.

_"Okay. Well... Why don't we talk about it Monday? After school, okay?"_

"You always say we should never stop being curious." Dustin told the teacher. To always open any curiosity door we find."

_"Dustin-"_

"Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?"

***

_Edited: 12/4/2020_


	20. EIGHTEEN; The Bathtub

"Uh-huh." Dustin held the phone to his ear, writing down in a notebook what Mr. Clarke was telling him. "Uh-huh. How much?" He nodded slightly, writing down whatever information he was being given. "Uh-huh. Yep, all right. Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. All right, Mr. Clarke. Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Clarke. Bye." He hung up the phone and placed it onto the table." He turned to Joyce. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?"

"I think so. Yeah." She said, looking at Jonathan for confirmation.

"Yeah," Jonathan confirmed.

"Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it."

"How much is 'lots'?" Hopper asked the youngest Henderson.

Dustin looked down at the paper where he had written the information his teacher had given him before looking back up at Hopper. "1,500 pounds."

"Jesus. That's a lot." Catherine muttered as everyone had shocked looks on their faces.

"Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asked.

***

Cat hopped behind Dustin and Lucas on a pair of spare crutches the boys had found in the middle school as she watched her younger brother roll the kiddie pool across the gym.

"This damn thing is heavy."

"I would help you, you know that." Cat told him. Dustin nodded as Lucas shook his head.

"You wouldn't be able to lift that thing anyway."

"Well at least I would be able to try and help. I feel useless just hopping along while you guys do all the work." Cat sighed.

She watched as the two boys untied the pool and unfolded it.

"Come on. It's upside down." Dustin told Lucas as they began to flip the pool. Cat let out a giggle and the two boys sent her a weird look.

"I'm sorry." the older girl apologised. "Joyce gave me a little more medication so I feel slightly loopy."

"How does this even work?" Dustin asked as they laid the pool out, trying to stop the sides from collapsing.

"Try that side." Lucas suggested, as Dustin tried to stand up the sides of the pool.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin groaned as the sides refused to stay up. Cat giggled, watching them and finding it very amusing.

The two boys began to argue while trying to figure out how to get the sides of the pool to stay up.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed, giving up.

***

Cat was lying down on the gym floor as the boys and Nancy filled up the pool with water. Lucas had a thermometer to see if the temperature was correct or not.

"Colder!" He yelled out to Nancy who was by the taps that they had connected the hoses to. "Warmer!" He yelled again a second later. "Right there!" He yelled to Nancy once the temperature was correct.

Hopper and Jonathan began to cut open the bags of salt that they had found and started pouring them into the pool. Catherine frowned, wishing that she could do something to help. She felt absolutely useless as she sat up and leaned against the side of the pool. She watched as Dustin placed an egg into the pool to see if they had made the isolation tank correctly. The egg sank and they all sighed as Hopper and Jonathan poured more salt into the water.

Dustin picked another egg from the egg box and placed it into the pool, smiling when he saw that it floated on the water's surface. Mike and Lucas both smiled as well as they patted their friend on the back. Cat smiled at her younger brother, feeling proud.

Mike placed the walkie-talkie on the side, changing the frequency so it was just static. El took her knee-length socks off her feet and removing the watch from her wrist as she prepared to climb into the pool. She looked at Cat who sent the small girl a reassuring smile, silently telling her that it was going to be okay. Eleven sent her a small smile in response and climbed into the home-made isolation tank. Joyce handed her the duck-taped goggles and the young girl slipped them over her head.

Everybody watched as she laid down in the water. The electricity started surging, causing the lights to flicker before encasing them all in darkness. Cat leaned her head on Jonathan's shoulder, not liking that there wasn't any light. After her trip to the Upside Down where she had been encased in darkness the whole time, she had started to get anxiety about being in darkness. Jonathan sensed her anxiety and wrapped an arm around his best friend. The group watched El in silence as they waited for something to happen.

"Barb? Barbara?" El spoke and both Nancy and Cat sat up straighter at the mention of their friend. El's breathing started to get heavy as she lay in the water. Cat shared a worried look with Nancy as they wondered what was going on. _Was Barb okay?_ The electricity started pulsating and the teens all shared a look of worry.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know." Mike answered, looking at his sister worriedly.

Nancy leaned over the pool slightly. "Is Barb okay?" She asked El. "Is she okay?"

"Gone!" El screamed. "Gone! Gone!" She kept repeating the word.

Both Nancy and Cat started crying as Joyce tried to comfort Eleven. "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." The woman repeated as Eleven continued repeating the word 'gone'.

"Hey. It's okay." Joyce told the young girl, holding onto her hands.

Catherine closed her eyes, hiding her face in Jonathan's shoulder as she cried. One of her best friends was gone and she wasn't ever coming back.

"It's okay, we're right here." Joyce spoke to El as calmly as she could. "We're right here, honey. It's okay. I got you. Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you. I'm right here with you. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay, you're safe. You're okay, honey."

"Castle Byers." El spoke. Catherine lifted her head, looking at the girl as she whipped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her red flannel. Joyce looked over at Jonathan as he looked back at her. Castle Byers was the fort that both Will and Jonathan had built together a few years ago. "Will." Eleven breathed out. "Will?"

Joyce gasped. "You tell him... tell him I'm coming." She said to El. "Mom is coming."

 _"Hurry."_ Will's voice came from the radio.

Cat brought a hand to her mouth, letting out a small sob as fresh tears fell down her face. Will was alive. They could save him.

"Okay. Listen, you tell him to..." Joyce stuttered out as she spoke to El. "To stay where he is. "We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey. Just... Just hold on a little longer."

El suddenly sat up, ripping the goggles from her head. She started breathing heavily as Joyce held her.

"Oh, okay, okay." Joyce whispered, holding El to her. "I've got you. It's okay. I got you. I got you. I got you, honey. You did so good." She pressed a kiss to the small girl's head as Eleven cried.

***

The kids sat on the benches as Lucas wrapped a towel around El. Cat took a seat next to them, placing her crutches beside her as she pulled the young girl into a hug.

Hopper sighed, speaking to Jonathan and Joyce as he put his jacket and hat on. "So this fort. Where is it?"

Joyce stuttered. "Uh, it's in the woods behind our house."

"Yeah, he used to go there to hide." Jonathan added, both him and Joyce following behind Hopper as he walked out of the school.

***

Catherine pulled out of her hug with El, grabbing her crutches as she informed the kids that she was going to see how Nancy was doing. She left the gym, going as fast as her body would allow her to and stepped into the hall to see Nancy and Jonathan sat against the wall, hugging their knees. She hobbled over to them and slid down so she was sat next to Nancy, her head leaning on the girl's shoulder.

"We have to go back to the station." Nancy announced after a few minutes of the teens sitting in silence.

"What?" Jonathan asked, his head turning towards the girl.

"Yeah," Cat said quietly as she looked up at her friend. "Are you serious?"

"Your mom and Hopper are just walking in there like bait."

"She has a point." Cat pointed out, looking over at Jonathan. "That thing is still in there."

"We can't just sit here and let it get them, too." Nancy explained. "We can't."

Jonathan sighed. "You still wanna try it out?"

"I wanna finish what we started." Nancy stated. "I want to kill it."

"Me too." Cat spoke as Jonathan nodded. "Just let me say something to the kids before we leave."

Jonathan helped her stand up as Nancy handed her the crutches. Cat thanked them as she made her way back into the gym and over to the kids. "All right. I'm going with Nancy to murder that son of a bitch monster that gave me these stitches." She announced, standing in front of them. "Now, I want you to behave and not get into anymore trouble, you understand?" She watched as the kids nodded. "Okay. Good. I just wanted to say goodbye in case anything happened to me."

She was shocked slightly as Eleven unexpectedly stood up and hugged her tightly. Cat wrapped her arms around the girl as best she could without losing her balance. "I love you guys like crazy, you too El." She looked down at the girl, placing a kiss on her head. "And if anything happens to you while I'm gone, I don't know what I'll do. I mean, even if I stayed I couldn't protect you from anything. Look at me." She gestured to herself as she let go of Eleven. "I'm a cripple." The teen let out a small laugh as Dustin wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back tightly. "I just love you guys so much. You're my favourite people in this damned town. Hell, even in the whole universe." The boys and Eleven smiled at her as they all wrapped their arms around the girl they all thought of as an older sister.

***

Cat, Nancy and Jonathan snuck into the police station, Nancy carrying Catherine on her back so her crutches wouldn't make a noise against the floor. Jonathan opened the door to the room where their box of bear traps sat on a desk. He grabbed the box and exited the room. As they walked back down the hall, the two girls picked up a fire extinguisher and the Cat held it as Nancy carried her back to the car they had parked outside.

***

_Edited: 12/4/2020_


	21. NINETEEN; The Upside Down

Jonathan pulled his car up to his house and the three teens raced inside with the things they planned to use against the Demogorgon.

Catherine sat herself on the couch, screwing in the lightbulbs on the Christmas lights nearest to her, a frown on her face as she wished she was doing more to help. Nancy and Jonathan screwed in all the other bulbs that Cat couldn't get too before setting up the bear trap in the hallway. The crippled teen pulled out the gun she had yet to give back to Callahan and made sure there were bullets in it ready to be fired while Nancy did the same to her gun and Jonathan hammered nails into a baseball bat. Cat watched as Nancy poured a trail of gasoline from the bear trap into the living room as Jonathan set up the yo-yo.

***

"Remember..." Jonathan said, handing a kitchen knife to both Nancy and Cat- the latter of whom was sat on the couch.

"Straight into Will's room. And-"

"Don't step on the trap." Both girls said, as they went over the plan.

"Wait for the yo-yo to move."

"Then..." Jonathan held up the lighter.

"We blow that bastard to hell." Catherine stated, gripping the handle of her knife tighter in her hand.

"All right." Jonathan nodded. "You ready?" He asked both girls.

"Ready." Nancy nodded, herself and Jonathan turning to look at Cat.

"Oh I'm ready." Cat told them, patting her gun that was sat on the arm of the couch next to her crutches.

"On three." The teens held their hands in front of them, placing the knives over their palms.

"One..." Jonathan started counting.

They pushed the knives slightly harder into their skin.

"Two..."

Nancy looked terrified. "You don't have to do this-"

"Jonathan, stop talking." Nancy told him, wanting to get this over and done with.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to-"

"Three!" Catherine yelled, slicing the palm of her hand with the knife. "Fuck! That hurts." She grabbed the sleeve of her flannel and pulled it over her hand, pressing the fabric into the cut to slow down the bleeding. She had accidentally cut the skin deeper than had been intended. "I swear to God, if I have to get more stitches, I might just scream."

***

Faint creaking could be heard from outside the house as the teens wrapped bandages around their injured hands.

"Did you hear that?" Nancy asked as all three of the teens looked towards the window at the front of the house.

"It's just the wind." Jonathan reassured her. "Don't worry. My mom, she said the lights speak when it comes."

"Speak?" Both girls questioned.

"Blink. Think of them as alarms."

They were silent for a few minutes while Nancy continued to wrap the bandage around Jonathan's hand.

"Is that too tight?" Nancy asked, referring to the bandage wrapped around Jonathan's hand.

The boy shrugged. "No," he stuttered, "it's fine. Thanks."

Cat looked down at her own hand to see blood already seeping through her own bandage. She knew the cut was bad and she hated the thought of going to the hospital to get it checked out once this whole situation was over.

A sudden banging on the door pulled her out of her thoughts as she and both Jonathan and Nancy gasped, heads turning to the door. Cat's hand immediately went to her gun and she raised it towards the door.

"Jonathan?" A voice called through the door, one she recognised as Steve's. He knocked loudly on the door again. "Are you there, man? It's... it's Steve!"

Nancy and Jonathan both shared a confused look as Cat lowered her gun, resting it on her lap as she double checked the safety was on.

"Listen, I just want to talk!" Steve continued to pound his fist on the door.

Nancy stood up from the couch and walked over to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open slightly.

"Steve, listen to me." Nancy started.

"Hey. Nancy, what-"

"You need to leave."

"I'm not trying to start anything, okay?"

"I don't care about that. You need to leave."

"No, no, no." Steve stammered. "Listen, I messed up, okay?" Cat's eyes went wide as she heard Steve admit his mistakes- that never happened, not since high school started anyway. "I messed... I messed up." There was more banging on the door as his hand hit the wood. "Okay? Really. Please. I just want to make things right. Okay? Please. Please..." Steve's eyes landed on Nancy's bandaged hand. "Hey, what happened to your hand?" He grabbed it, turning it towards him. "Is that blood?"

Nancy pulled her hand away from him. "Nothing. It was an accident." She stuttered.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Nancy denied.

"Wait a sec. Did he do this to you?" Steve pushed the door, trying to enter the house.

"No."

"Nancy, let me in!" He pushed the door open and stumbled in as Nancy tried to stop him.

His eyes glanced at Jonathan, then to Cat and her bandaged hand wrapped around her gun before they landed on the baseball bat covered in nails that was sat on the coffee table. "What is.. What the..."

"You need to get out of here." Jonathan told him, trying to push the other boy out of his house.

"Whoa. What is all-" He said, pushing Jonathan off of him.

"Listen to me. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you, get out of here!"

"He's right, Harrington. You should really leave." Cat said, grabbing one of her crutches and leaning on it as she stood from the couch. She wobbled slightly and dropped the gun as her hand went to her head. She was feeling slightly light-headed.

"What is that smell?" Steve asked, shoving Jonathan away from him. "Is that... is that gasoline?"

"Steve, get out!" Nancy yelled, raising her own gun and pointing it at him.

"Wait." He stuttered. "What? What is going on?"

"You have five seconds to get out of here." Nancy told him.

"Okay, is this a joke? Stop. Put the gun down." Steve held his hands out in front of him as Nancy continued to point the gun at him.

"I'm doing this for you."

"Nancy." Jonathan said, looking at the lights as they started to flicker. Cat's gaze turned to the Christmas lights and watched as they started to flicker, the sight making her feel sick.

"Wait. Is this a... What is this?" Steve asked, neither him or Nancy noticing the lights yet.

"Nancy." Jonathan said again, trying to get the girl's attention.

"Three. Two." Nancy counted down.

"No, no, no! No, no!"

"Nancy!" Jonathan yelled. "The lights."

Nancy's head whipped round as she looked at the flickering lights.

"It's here."

"Oh, my God." Cat gasped, trying to not throw up the bile that was making it's way up her throat.

"Wait, what's here?" Steve asked, not understanding the situation he had accidentally put himself in.

Jonathan grabbed the baseball bat and the gun, handing the latter to Catherine.

"Where is it?" Nancy asked, looking around to try and work out where the creature would appear.

"Where is what?" Steve yelled. "Whoa! Easy with that!" He yelled as Nancy turned around, waving the gun around as she stood back to back with Jonathan. Cat stood leaning on one of her crutches as she switched the safety off her gun, moving it every time the lights flickered.

"Where is it?" Both girls yelled, completely anxious.

"I don't know. I don't see it." Jonathan replied as him and Nancy walked round in circles in the middle of the room.

"Where is what?" Steve yelled.

"The creature that caused me to look like Frankenstein's freaking monster!" Cat yelled back from the other end of the room. "Now, shut up!"

"Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going-" He was cut off as the Demogorgon came crashing through the ceiling. Nancy began shooting it as Cat let out a scream in shock.

"No!" Jonathan yelled, pulling Nancy away from it. "Go! Go! Run! Go!" He ran over to Cat and pulled her across the room -the girl stumbling behind him, crying out in pain each time she put pressure on her broken leg. She had dropped her gun and her crutch had slipped out of her hand when Jonathan pulled her away from the creature. Cat's hand grabbed Steve's, pulling him down the hall behind her as Jonathan continued to yell at them to run. Cat screamed as the Demogorgon let out another roar. Jonathan yelled at Steve to jump as they reached the bear trap and Cat let out a scream of pain as she landed hard on her broken leg.

"Oh, my God!" Steve yelled, still holding onto Cat's hand. "Oh, my God!"

They ran into Will's room, Steve slamming the door behind him as Cat cried from the shooting pain in her leg.

"Jesus! Jesus! What the hell was that?" Steve yelled. "What the hell was that?"

"Shut up!" Nancy and Jonathan both yelled at him.

Cat tried to quiet her crying as she collapsed onto the bed, whimpering at the pain she was in. She sat up suddenly as the monster screeched outside the door, tears still streaming down her face and the occasional whimper leaving her mouth. Steve gently pulled her behind him as she gripped tightly onto his jumper. Nancy held the gun up at the door as Jonathan held both the baseball bat and the lighter, the lighter already lit to light the gasoline and burn the monster.

"What's it doing?" Nancy asked as Catherine's head peeked around Steve, her eyes fixed on the door.

"I don't know." Jonathan replied.

"If we die," Catherine panted. "I swear to God, I will bring you all back to life and kill you myself."

The electricity jolted and the lights stopped flickering.

"Do you hear anything?" Nancy asked.

Jonathan flicked the lighter off, the flame disappearing. "No." He opened the door and stepped out, the bat raised. Nancy, Steve and Cat following cautiously behind him. Catherine was still gripping onto Steve for support and because she was absolutely terrified.

The bear trap was completely empty and there was no sign of the Demogorgon at all. Catherine should have been relieved. But she wasn't. It only made her feel more scared.

***

_Edited: 12/4/2020_


	22. TWENTY; The Upside Down

The group carefully walked down the hallway and into the living room, Catherine gasping in pain with every step she took. She held onto the wall as they entered the living room, looks of confusion on each of the teen's faces as there was no sign of the Demogorgon at all.

Catherine stumbled as she began to feel more light-headed. She looked down at her hand and saw that the white bandage was completely red with blood and the bandage becoming an even darker shade of red as more blood began to cover it. Cat looked over to Steve, a few black spots entering her line of vision, and saw him muttering to himself.

"This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy." He kept repeating. "This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy!" He ran to the phone and began to dial. As he put the phone to his ear Nancy ran over and snatched it out of his hand.

"What are you do- What are you doing? Are you insane?"

"It's going to come back!" Nancy yelled at him. "So you need to leave."

"She's right." Cat muttered, tiredly leaning against the wall and attempting to keep her eyes open.

"Right now."

Steve looked at a loss for words as he ran out of the house, closing the door behind him.

Barely a minute after he left, the electricity began pulsating again and the flickering lights nearly made Cat throw up the contents of her stomach, which wasn't much.

"Where is it?" Nancy asked as she and Jonathan circled the room back to back.

Catherine limped over to the other side of the living room where her gun was. She bent down to grab it, not able to see anything through the rapidly flickering lights. "Shit." She muttered, her fingers barely gripping the gun. She slowly stood back up, unable to see a thing.

"Come on. Come on, you son of a bitch." Jonathan muttered. "You see it?"

"No. Where-"

"No."

"Come on. Where are you? Come on!"

The lights went out completely.

"Fuck. Is it too late to mention the fact that I'm absolutely terrified of the dark?" Cat muttered, her hand gripping tightly onto the gun.

"Maybe." Jonathan shrugged.

"Only slightly too late." Nancy agreed, gripping tightly onto her gun.

There was a low growling sound and Nancy turned around towards Jonathan, screaming when she saw the Demogorgon behind him. "Jonathan!"

"Holy shit!" Catherine screamed, barely able to see the monster tower over Jonathan before it pulled him to the ground and leaned over him.

"Jonathan!" Both girls screamed.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Nancy yelled, shooting at the creature.

It moved towards her but stopped when Catherine started shooting it. The Demogorgon roared and turned around, making it's way towards her. She took a shaky step back, her leg giving out under her as she fell to the floor, her head colliding with the wall. The monster towered over her and Cat couldn't help but think back to a few days ago when she was in this exact scenario in the Upside Down.

A claw collided with her chest, digging into her skin and dragging all the way down to her stomach. Catherine screamed, unable to move as she was cornered into the wall. Nancy tried to shoot at it but she had run out of bullets, her gun being rendered useless. More black spots covered Cat's vision as another claw ran down her side. Tears poured down her face as she desperately tried to push the monster off of her. It didn't move, it wouldn't. She was too weak. It had made up it's mind. It was going to kill her. She was going to die.

She closed her eyes, accepting her fate as she weakly pushed at the creature when out of nowhere it fell away from her. She opened her eyes, blinking to try and rid herself off the black spots in her vision, to see Steve hitting the monster with the spiked baseball bat. Her mouth fell open in shock.

"Steve!" Nancy yelled in shock as the monster let out a roar.

Steve continued swinging the bat at the Demogorgon, leading it into the hallway towards the bear trap. He swung the bat at the monster and hit it, sending it into the trap.

"He's in the trap!" Jonathan yelled, running over to the trail of gasoline. Catherine pushed herself up, attempting to stand so she could see what was happening but collapsed back to the floor after a second.

"He's stuck!" Steve yelled as he ran back towards the others in the living room.

"Jonathan, now!" Nancy yelled.

Jonathan stepped in front of both Steve and Nancy, Steve holding the bat in the air, and flicked the lighter before throwing it into the gasoline. The carpet erupted into flames, the monster shrieking as it burned. Cat covered her ears, trying to block out the sound.

Jonathan grabbed the fire extinguisher, pointing it at the flames. "Get back!" He yelled as he smothered the fire in foam. The teens began to cough, Cat managing to stumble over to the others as she did so, holding onto the wall for support.

They all slowly inched their way towards the bear trap.

"Where did it go?" Nancy asked.

"No. It has to be dead." Jonathan replied and Catherine nodded her head slightly as she coughed. "It has to be." Jonathan panted.

The sight of what was left of the Demogorgon pushed Cat over the edge as she turned around and vomited and coughed, blood being the main fluid leaving her mouth.

***

All the teens looked up as one by one the Christmas lights began lighting up. They slowly began to back up down the hall as the lights followed them. Cat stumbled slightly and her hand gripped onto Steve's arm so she didn't collapse.

The lights began to light up one by one, heading in a line towards the living room. The teens watched in confusion and anticipation for the monster to attack them again- although they were sure they had killed it. They followed the trail of lights and watched as they led to the front door.

"Mom." Jonathan breathed out. "Is that you? Mom."

The teens followed Jonathan outside the house. The street lamp started to flicker and Cat's grip on Steve's arm got tighter. She was completely and utterly terrified at the thought of the Demogorgon coming back, although there was a chance Jonathan was right and it was just his mom and Hopper in the Upside Down.

"Where's it going?" Nancy asked.

"I don't think that's the monster." Both Nancy and Steve looked at him in confusion.

Suddenly, Cat's grip on Steve's arm loosened and she felt herself collapsing to the ground, her head spinning and her vision disappearing. Steve turned around at the loss of contact and was quick to grab the shorter girl before her head connected with the concrete porch. Both Nancy and Jonathan turned around and the former gasped when she saw how much blood her friend was losing.

***

_Edited: 12/4/2020_


	23. TWENTY ONE; The Upside Down

Catherine sat in the waiting room of the hospital, covered practically head to toe in stitches. Her head leaning on Steve's shoulder as her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, even though she was exhausted. In fact, she didn't think she would be able to sleep for a very long time. Her leg was propped up on a chair, a completely new cast on it as she had fucked up her leg even more at the Byers' house.

"I heard you stopped me from cracking my head open when I lost consciousness earlier."

Steve looked down at her as she pushed her hair out of her face. He hummed in response, not knowing what to say.

"Thank you. I don't think I would have coped with anymore stitches." She looked up at him.

The taller boy looked down at her and sent her a small smile. "You're welcome, Henderson."

Cat let out a soft chuckle. "You save my life and we're still on a last name basis?"

Steve shrugged.

"Remember when we were in middle school and we used to hang out all the time?" Steve nodded. "We used to be best friends but then high school happened and you became friends with Tommy H. and Carol but they didn't want me around. You were desperate to be popular so you hung out with them all the time and left me."

Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulder, not sure what to say to his former best friend. "It should have taken me longer to realise that being popular wasn't as good as hanging out with you."

"I know. Nothing beats hanging out with me." Cat chuckled.

"And with what happened with your dad..." Cat closed her eyes, her dad was still a topic that she wasn't ready to talk about. "The point is, I should have been there for you. And I wasn't. You were really struggling and I'm pretty sure that Tommy and Carol bullying you didn't help."

"No. No, you're right. They didn't help at all."

Cat looked over to Dustin who was leaning on Lucas' shoulder, the two fast asleep. She frowned, remembering what they had told her about Eleven and how she saved the boys from the Demogorgon and disappeared in the process. She felt guilt start to eat her up inside. She should have stayed in the school with them and helped keep them safe, not gone off with Jonathan and Nancy.

Jonathan opened the door and entered the room. At the sight of her friend, Cat sat straight up, her hair hitting Steve round the face. She looked up at the tall boy, a hopeful look on her face. _It had to be good news right?_ Jonathan simply nodded at Mike who shot up from his seat and began waking his two sleeping friends.

"Guys. Guys, he's up. Will is up. Guys, Will's up." He shook the shoulders of both Dustin and Lucas. Lucas instantly pushed Dustin off his shoulder as they followed Mike into Will's room. "Guys, come on."

Catherine grabbed her crutches and reached out her hand towards Jonathan. "Mind helping me up?" She asked. Jonathan smiled and helped the girl stand, leaning on her crutches for support. "Wait for me, guys." She called out to the boys as she slowly followed them into Will's room.

"Byers!" Mike yelled as the boys all tumbled into the room, Cat just behind them. The teen smiled, happy to see all her boys reunited.

Dustin laughed as Mike raced over to his friend, pulling him into a hug, Lucas joining in.

"Be careful. Be careful with him." Joyce warned as she helped Catherine into the chair next to the hospital bed.

"Move." Dustin demanded as he pushed his two friends away from Will so he could give the small boy a hug.

"Guys, guys." Jonathan said from the doorway. "Go easy on him."

"You won't believe what happened when you were gone, man." Lucas told him. All four boys had huge smiles on their faces and Cat wiped away a tear from her eyes, happy that they were all together again.

"It was mental." Dustin added.

"You had a funeral."

"Jennifer Hayes was crying."

"And Troy peed himself."

"What?"

"In front of the whole school!"

Will started coughing and Cat leaned forward in her seat, moving Dustin out of her way slightly, concerned for the small boy.

"You okay?" Mike asked him.

"It got me. The Demogorgon."

"We know."

Cat reached a hand out and grabbed one of Will's hands. "Don't worry, kiddo. It got me too."

"It's okay. It's dead." Mike informed his friend. "We made a new friend. She stopped it. She saved us. But she's gone now."

"Her name's Eleven." Dustin spoke.

"Like the number?"

"Well, we call her 'El' for short." Lucas told him.

"She's basically a wizard."

"She has superpowers." Lucas whispered.

"More like a Yoda." Mike pointed out.

"She flipped a van with her mind, and these agents were trying to shoot us-"

Cat cut her brother off. "You were being shot at?!"

The boys waved her off, beginning to talk over one another as Will smiled at them.

"Yeah, it flipped over us-"

"Then she squeezed the brains out..."

"And blood was pouring out of their faces."

"Ew, gross." Cat commented, pulling a face of disgust.

"It was pouring out of their eyes."

"Hold up! You never mentioned any of this to me earlier." Catherine stated, although she was unsure she was heard as the boys were all talking at once.

"Agents just started grabbing us and stuff..."

Cat zoned out, happy that her boys were back together and that they were, for the most part, alright.

***

**One Month Later**

"Jeez, what's that smell?" Jonathan asks as he walks down the stairs to the basement, Catherine not far behind him, her face scrunched up in disgust. By now her leg was out of its cast and instead she had to wear a boot on her leg. She didn't mind, it was much more pleasant that having to hobble around on crutches for ages.

"Yeah, ew. Gross. What the hell is that?"

"Have you guys been playing games all day-"

"Or just farting?" Cat finished her friend's question, giving him a high-five.

All of the them chuckled. "Oh, that's just Dustin." Lucas told the two older teens. "He farted."

"Ew, gross." Cat said, pulling another face of disgust.

"Dustin farted." Lucas blew a raspberry, imitating the sound of a fart.

"Okay." Dustin said. "Very mature, Lucas."

"Will." Jonathan said to his brother. "Come on." Will got up from the table as Lucas continued to annoy Dustin.

"Bye, guys." Will grabbed his backpack off the floor as Cat ruffled his hair.

"Bye, Will."

"See ya." Cat said to the two Byers, giving each of them a hug. "Say hi to your mom for me. I miss her."

"You were literally at my house yesterday because I had to tutor you in Chemistry. You saw my mom yesterday. How do you already miss her?" Jonathan asked the short teen.

"Because, I just do." Catherine stated. "She's really cool and if I'm being honest," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "she's better than my mom."

Jonathan laughed, leading his brother up the stairs. "Okay, well, I'll be sure to tell her that."

Cat watched as Lucas and Dustin started to play-fight with each other and Mike stared sadly at the little den where Eleven used to sit. She placed a hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him. "I'm sure where-ever she is, she's alright. She's tough. She'll find her way back to you. I know she will."

Mike looked up at the teen. "You sure?"

"When have I been wrong about something?"

"Well according to Nancy you're always wrong at school, so..."

"You know what I mean." She ruffled his hair. "And besides, all my subjects are confusing anyway. It's not my fault." The small raven-haired boy laughed slightly and Cat smiled, glad she cheered him up slightly. "Okay, Dustin. We have to go." The boy in question looked at his sister and frowned not wanting to leave. "I'll wait for you upstairs." She waved at the boys and walked up the stairs.

She walked through the kitchen towards the front door, passing Mrs. Wheeler on her way.

"You wish your mom a merry Christmas for me, okay?"

Cat nodded. "Will do. Merry Christmas to you too. I'm just gonna wait outside for Dustin, if that's alright."

"Oh, no. It's fine dear. But wouldn't you rather wait in here. It's freezing outside."

"You sure? I wouldn't want to invade on you guys."

Karen shook her head. "You're always welcome here, darling."

Cat nodded and made her way to the bottom of the stairs where she sat down, waiting for her younger brother.

"Hey." A voice said as she felt someone sit next to her. She turned her head to see Steve.

"Hey." Cat greeted back.

Steve handed her a present. "Merry Christmas, Cat."

"Steve. You shouldn't have, I... I don't have anything for you."

"Just accept it. I wasn't there for you when I should have been. And I know I can't ever make that up to you. But I can be there for you now, and I will be. Now open your gift before I open it for you."

Cat smiled at him and began taking the wrapping off of the gift. She smiled, seeing that Steve had brought her a necklace with both of their initials engraved on one side and the words _'Best Friends'_ engraved on the other. "Thanks Steve. Now I feel really bad that I don't have anything to give to you." She hooked the necklace around her neck so it was hanging just below the locket she wore that held a photo of her father.

Steve wrapped an arm around her. "Don't worry. I've got one too. And from now on, I'll always be here for you. No matter what." Cat smiled as Dustin appeared. She sent one last smile at Steve before standing up. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Cat put an arm on her brother's shoulder and led him outside, calling out a goodbye to the Wheeler's.

"Oh, Cat. Wait!" Nancy came barrelling down the stairs, a gift in her hands. "I have something for you. You gave me a present the other day and I nearly forgot to give you yours." She handed her friend the gift and gave her a hug. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Nancy."

***

**A/N:**

_That's season 1 over and done. Can't wait for season 2._

_Stay safe xx_

_(Edited: 12/4/2020)_


	24. Part Two

**Cast**

Saoirse Ronan as Catherine Henderson

_-the one who will go to any lengths to keep her loved ones safe-_

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

_-the one who fell_ _even more_ _in love with his childhood best friend-_

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

_-the ones who dressed up on Halloween when no one else did-_

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

_-the one who was a badass-_

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

_-the one who thought it was all bullshit-_

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

 _-the one who_ _is always there for his friends-_

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers and David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper

_-the ones who always believed in each other-_

Sean Astin as Bob Newby

_-the one who was a superhero-_

Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove

_-the one who was an asshole-_

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

_-the one who stood up for her friends-_


	25. TWENTY TWO; MADMAX

_October 1984_

_Hawkins, Indiana_

"Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!" Catherine heard her younger brother, Dustin yell as he searched under couch cushions for any loose change. He ran into the living room where their mom, Claudia, was sat watching television with their cat Mews. "Another stupid penny!" Dustin cried, as he threw it across the room.

"Dusty, watch it!" Claudia cried, holding the ginger cat. "You almost hit Mews."

"Can I please check under your cushions?" He asked, walking across the room towards her.

"Dusty."

"Mom, please? It's an emergency!"

Claudia sighed and gave in, standing up so her son could look for change under the chair's cushions. Dustin grinned as he held up two coins. "Love you, Mom." He said as he ran back to his room.

Cat sighed as she looked into her full-length mirror, holding her t-shirt in her hands. She frowned as she looked at all the scars that littered her body. The one that went across her face hadn't fully healed and was very visible, as was the ones down her chest and her side. The one on her arm had faded slightly and was very white in comparison to her skin. She hated them. They were horrible and ugly.

Catherine jumped as there was a knock on her door.

"Kit!" Her brother called out from the other side of her bedroom door.

"Just a moment!" She called back, throwing on her shirt and pulling it down as far as it would go. She made sure it had long sleeves, not only because it was autumn and was starting to get chilly, but also because she wanted to cover as many of her scars as possible. She walked across her room to the door, pulling it open to reveal her brother. Dustin said nothing as he pushed past her and began searching for any spare change she had lying around. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I need money. We're going to the arcade, remember?"

"Okay, well, you could have just asked me for some." She said, walking towards her sock drawer where she kept her purse. She held it up to show him. "You can use some of this money. It's the money I save for special trips to the arcade, like today."

Dustin grinned at her like it was Christmas. "You're the best!" He exclaimed, giving her a huge hug.

Cat smiled. "Yeah. I am, aren't I? But I'm holding onto my purse."

"Why, 'cause it's the one Steve gave you?"

Cat shook her head, shoving him out of her room. "Just go. I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes. But you better wait for me."

Dustin ran into his room, grabbing his walkie-talkie and sitting on the floor by his bed. "Lucas, you copy? I've got four quarters. Kit's coming as well and she has loads more for us to use. What's your haul?"

_"Take your puny haul and multiply it by five."_ Lucas answered. _"How much does Cat have?"_

"Not sure, but I think a lot. How have you got that much?"

_"While you were scrounging around like a homeless bum, I mowed Old Man Humphrey's lawn."_

"Old Man Humphrey's got that kinda cash?"

_"Just call Mike already."_

"You call Mike."

_"I have to go take a shower from doing real work, like a man. Over and out."_

Dustin sighed. "Mike, do you copy? Mike, do you copy?"

_"Yeah. Yeah, I copy."_

"What the hell are you doing on this channel?" Dustin asked his other friend.

_"Nothing."_

"Lucas and I have six bucks total. Well, more if you add Kit's haul but I don't know the exact amount she has. What's your haul?"

_"Shit! I don't know yet."_

"What do you mean you don't know yet?"

_"Hold on. Call Will."_

Dustin sighed, looking up to see Catherine standing in his doorway. "Come on, Loser. We've got to go."

***

The group cycled up to the arcade, parking their bikes in the bike racks. A horn beeped and they all turned around to see Joyce's car pull up with Will sitting in the passenger seat. The young boy waved at them and the others waved back.

"Hey!" They called out to him, waiting for their friend to get out of the car.

Cat saw that Joyce was talking to her son and walked up to the car as Will opened the door and climbed out, running over to the boys. "Hey, Mrs. Byers."

"Catherine. I told you, call me Joyce."

Cat smiled. The only person in the universe that she allowed to call her Catherine -other than her own mother- was Joyce. "Okay, Joyce..." She emphasised the woman's name. "Don't worry about a thing. I'll make sure he's safe. I promise."

Joyce smiled at her. "Thank you. I'm so glad you're in our lives. I'll pick him up in two hours, at nine."

Cat nodded. "I'll wait with him 'till you arrive."

"Thank you, dear. Have fun."

"We will." Catherine waved as Joyce drove away before turning to the boys and giving Will a hug. "Alright. Who wants to play some video games and spend all my hard earned money?"

Lucas scoffed. "It's not hard earned money. You get paid to look after us."

"And that's easy, is it?" Cat opened the door to the arcade. "It's actually quite difficult looking after you little shits-" she turned to the small Byers boy, "Not you though Will, you're lovely."

The other three boys groaned as Will smiled at the older girl, who let out a chuckle.

"You're choosing him as you're favourite, over me?! Your own brother?!" Dustin sounded highly offended.

"You forget, Dusty, I have to live with you." She ruffled his hair. "But you know I love you all, right? How could I not? You're my favourite people to defend Hawkins with."

***

The group was crowded around one of the video game machines, watching Dustin play _'Dragon's Lair'_. Cat was leaning on the side of the machine, an arm draped around Will's shoulder.

"Oh, Jesus! I'm in unchartered territory here, guys." Dustin told them.

"I'm sure you can do it. I mean, you guys did fight against a Demogorgon last year."

"Sshh!" The boys begged her to be quiet, knowing that they weren't allowed to talk about the previous year's events in public, before yelling instructions at Dustin to help him win the game. "Down! Down! Down!" The boys yelled at Dustin who moved the game's controller in order to move his character (a knight) away from the giant dragon.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Dustin yelled back, his eyes flicking from the controller to the screen.

The boys crowded further round the game, watching in excitement as Dustin was close to winning. They all started yelling at each other and Cat rolled her eyes, standing on her tip toes to see the screen over their heads.

"Okay. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" Dustin yelled at his friends, repeatedly hitting the button labelled _'Sword'_. They all watched as the knight was burned alive by the Dragon. "No. No. No!" Dustin cried, hitting the games console with his hands.

"Better luck next time, Dusty." Cat sighed, allowing the heels of her feet to touch the floor again.

"No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit!" He hit the machine with his fists and Cat watched from next to Will, an amused look on her face. "Son of a bitch!" He kicked the machine. "Piece of shit!"

"You're just not nimble enough." Lucas told him, standing on Dustin's left. "But you'll get there one day. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine."

"Whatever. I'm still tops on _'Centipede'_ and _'Dig Dug'_. Dustin shrugged.

"You sure about that?" Keith, the manager of the arcade asked, stuffing his face with a bag of _'Cheetos'_. The group of five turned around to face him.

"Sure about what?" Dustin asked, looking slightly scared. Keith didn't say anything and only watched as Dustin pushed past his friends and sister to run to the machine that held the game _'Dig Dug'_. "You're kidding me. No, no, no." He pushed past other kids as he raced to the machine, Will, Mike, Lucas, Catherine and Keith behind him. "Move! Move! No, no, no, no, no. Hey, no! No! No!"

They all crowded around the game machine, looking at the score screen.

_'1st- 751300- MADMAX'_

"Wow." Catherine muttered, impressed with the score.

"751, 300 points!" Will exclaimed.

"That's impossible." Mike said.

"Yeah, well, apparently not anymore." Cat pointed out.

"Who is Mad Max?" Dustin asked Keith.

"Better than you." Cat rolled her eyes at the very tall employee. Dustin raised his middle finger at him.

"Is it you?" Will asked.

Keith scoffed. "You know I despise _'Dig Dug'_."

"Then who is it?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, spill it, Keith." Dustin demanded.

"You want information, then I need something in return." Keith told them through a mouthful of crisps, looking at Mike. The other three's heads all turned to the boy who was wide-eyed.

"No, no, no. No way. You're not getting a date with her."

"Mike, come on. Just get him the date." Lucas said to him.

"I'm not prostituting my sister!"

Cat raised her eyebrows, unsurprised that it was Nancy who Keith wanted to go out with and not her- not that she'd ever go out with Keith anyway.

"But it's for a good cause." Lucas tried to convince him.

"No, don't get him the date." Dustin said, stepping between the two. "Know what? He's gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family."

"Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, you prepubescent wastoid."

Cat snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. Dustin sent her a glare and she raised her hands in surrender, trying to wipe the smile from her face.

"Oh, I'm a wastoid? She wouldn't go on a date with you. You make, like, what? $2.50 an hour? Even Kit wouldn't go out with you."

Cat laughed, but nodded all the same. Her brother was right, she wouldn't ever go out with Keith.

"Nice perm." Keith said to him.

"Gonna make fun of my hair?"

Cat tuned the conversation out as she noticed Will wandering away from the group. She followed after him.

"Hey. Hey, guys, do you see the.." He tailed off, turning around to where his friends were only to see no one there, except Catherine.

"You okay?" She asked, reaching a hand out to his shoulder. Suddenly the world flickered and the two were in the Upside Down. "What the..." Cat trailed off, looking around her confused. Both Will and Catherine jumped as the door to the arcade swung open.

The two wandered outside and Catherine noticed the sign to the arcade flicker on and off. She put an arm around him as they stood just outside the building.

"You can see it too?" Will asked the older girl.

"Yeah..."

They looked into the distance to see what looked like a storm forming as thunder crashed and the electricity began crackling.

Will gasped as the two were suddenly brought back to the normal world, being pulled out by Mike talking to them.

"Will! Cat! Are you okay?"

The boy in question looked back to where the storm had previously been. "Yeah. I just..."

"He just needed some air so I thought I'd bring him outside." Cat lied to Mike, giving Will a reassuring side hug. "And I'm fine too, thank you for asking."

Mike nodded. "Come on. You're up on _'Dig Dug'_." The three turned back to the arcade, Mike throwing an arm around Will's shoulder as Cat squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Let's take that top score back, huh?"

***

_Edited: 12/4/2020_


	26. TWENTY THREE; MADMAX

Cat cycled her bike up to the high school, jumping off it and walking up to Steve's car where he was going over his essay with Nancy. She knocked on his window, scaring the pair slightly. Steve rolled down his window so Cat could talk to them.

"Hey, losers." She greeted.

"Hello to you, too, Catherine." Steve greeted.

"I've told you. Don't call me that." She leaned her head through the open window to talk to Nancy. "Hey, Nance. Do we still have the dinner at Barb's tonight?"

"Yeah. You going to leave me in history, again?"

"Yup. Sorry. I've got to go with Will to his appointment."

The sound of a car engine revving grabbed the teen's attention and Cat pulled her face away from the window as Steve began to roll it up before he and Nancy climbed out of the car. They leaned on the doors of Steve's car and watched as an unfamiliar car screeched to a stop in the parking space in the row behind where they were currently stood. Catherine scoffed as the car took up two spaces and squinted her eyes to read the number plate; _'California'._

They watched as the owner of the car climbed out. He wasn't that bad looking, Catherine just didn't see him as her type. He had a mullet and was wearing a denim jacket over a white t-shirt with a really tight pair of jeans and some black boots. The passenger door opened and Cat's attention turned to the younger girl that exited the car. She was about the boys' age and had long red hair. The older girl watched as she hopped onto her skateboard and made her way towards the middle school.

***

Cat left the classroom, ready to go home. She walked alongside Jonathan and Nancy as they began to walk down the hallway.

"Hey, Nancy." Tina said as she handed Nancy one of her orange flyers.

"Hey!" Nancy greeted back, reading the flyer. "Thanks."

Nancy continued walking down the corridor with Jonathan and Catherine, who Tina had completed ignored. The two teens were used to it by now and so weren't too bothered by it.

"Oh, could I get two more?" Nancy asked, turning back to Tina.

"Yeah, sure." Tina handed her the flyers and Nancy shoved them at her two friends as they walked down the hallway.

"You two are coming to this."

Cat shook her head, frowning at the piece of bright orange paper.

"'Come and get sheet faced.'" Jonathan read. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah." Cat agreed. "Parties aren't really my scene."

"I can't let you two sit all alone on Halloween. That's just not acceptable." Nancy slipped the paper into her folder.

"Well, you can relax." Jonathan told her. "We're not going to be alone."

"Yeah. We're going trick-or-treating with the boys." Cat added.

"All night?" Nancy asked them.

"Yeah." Jonathan said as Cat nodded.

"No, no way. You're gonna be home by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something. And you, Cat. You're gonna be painting with the paints I gave you at Christmas before Dustin makes you watch a movie with him."

Cat sighed. "You know me so well."

Jonathan shrugged. "Sounds like a nice night."

"Jonathan, Cat, just come. I mean, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone." She opened her locker, suddenly shrieking when Steve suddenly grabbed her and picked her up.

Catherine rolled her eyes at the two before walking away to her locker.

***

Cat sighed as she placed her books in her locker, happy to be finally leaving school for the day- even if it was to go to a hospital. She slammed the door to her locker shut, revealing the new guy leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Well, hello. And who might you be?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "Isn't there anyone else that you could go and bother?" She snapped, walking around him. He grabbed her arms, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back around to face the boy. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you. The name's Billy, Billy Hargrove."

"Well, Billy." She put emphasis on his name. "I'm Cat Henderson and I'd appreciate if you'd pick a different time to talk to me because I have somewhere important to be and I can't afford to be late." She pulled her arm out of his grip and rushed out of the school. She spotted Hopper's police van and pulled the door open once she had crammed her bike into the trunk . "Let's get this over with."

"What's put you in such a mood?" Hopper asked the small teen as he pulled away from the high school.

Catherine shrugged. "Just people, I guess." She leaned her head against the window.

"Right. People." He glanced at the girl as she fiddled with the necklace that sat just below the locket she always wore around her neck. "It's not that Harrington boy, is it?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "I just..." She shook her head, not believing she was about to tell the chief of police about her personal issues. "I've been in love with him since, like forever. You know? But he only saw me as a friend. That's all he ever will see me as. And no one else wants to date me, or whatever. Not that I blame them. Who would want to be with someone like me? My body is littered with horrible, disgusting scars, I have a fucking criminal record from stealing all the damn time and apparently, I'm a psycho."

Hopper looked down at her before focusing his gaze back on the road. He wasn't sure what to say. He sighed, trying to work out what to say to her. "Look, kid. I get it, alright? He'll come 'round eventually, and if he doesn't, well then maybe he isn't the right person for you. You'll find someone. You're not a psycho, you're a really sweet kid who's had some rough patches in life and got through them. Now, I don't know who said you were psycho, or why, but I promise you're not. I don't know what to say about you're criminal record, but I know for a fact that you haven't stolen anything recently. I haven't seen you down at the station in a while. And you're scars-"

Cat cut him off by muttering. "I have stolen things, but I haven't been caught. That's why you haven't seen me at the station. And for the record it was Tommy H. who said those things about me."

"You know you just told the chief of police that, right?" Cat rolled her eyes. "But I'll let it slide and pretend I didn't hear it. Anyway, you're scars, they aren't horrible. Or disgusting. They're what makes you, you. They're battle scars. They show that you survived that fight last year with the Demogorgon. Kid, don't think so little of yourself. You're worth a lot, you know that, right?"

Catherine nodded her head slightly, watching as Hopper pulled the van into a parking space outside the lab where the hospital was. Once they were parked, Catherine pushed open her door, stepping out of the van. She leant against the back of the van as Hopper stood next to her, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Cat pulled out her own packet of cigarettes. Just as she went to light it, Hopper grabbed the cigarette from between her fingers and threw it to the ground.

"What was that for?!" Catherine cried.

"You shouldn't be smoking."

"Says you. You're such a hypocrite, giving me a lecture about smoking when that's exactly what you're standing here doing!"

Before either of the two could argue any more, Joyce and Will pulled up next to them in Joyce's car. Hopper blew one last puff of air from his cigarette before chucking it onto the floor. Cat waved at Will as he got out of the car.

"Hey, buddy." Hopper greeted as Cat pulled the small boy in for a quick hug, throwing her arm around him as the four began to head towards the building.

***

"Sir Will, how are you?" Doctor Sam Owens asked as he walked into the room, sitting down on the chair next to Will who was hooked up to multiple machines. "Mom. Pop. Catherine" He greeted Joyce, Hopper and Cat, the latter frowning at being called 'Catherine'. Hopper and Cat were posing as Will's father ad sister as it was the only way for them to be allowed in during Will's appointments. "Let's take a look, see what's going on here." He opened the file in his hands. "I see you shaved off a pound since we saw you last. Must be making room for all that Halloween candy. What's your favourite candy? Desert island candy, if you had to pick one?"

"I don't know." Will shrugged.

"Come on. Life or death situation, what would you pick?"

"I guess..." Will trailed off, looking at Joyce and Catherine for help.

Joyce mouthed the words _"Reese's Pieces"_ to him.

"...Reese's Pieces."

Cat frowned in disagreement. "No way, _'Three Musketeers'_ is way better."

"Reese's Pieces, good call. Good call." Owens said as he looked over his notes. "I'm more of a _'Mounds'_ guy, but I gotta say, peanut butter and chocolate, come on, hard to beat that."

"It is if you're allergic to nuts." Cat mumbled and Joyce placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"All right, tell me what's going on with you." Doctor Owens said to Will. "Tell me about this episode you had."

"Well, my friends were there..." He looked to Cat, silently asking if he should mention that she could also see the Upside Down. The teen shook her head slightly, wanting to keep it a secret. She didn't want everyone to worry about anything else and she was sure she'd work it out soon anyway. "And then they just weren't," Will continued to explain his episode. "And I was back there again."

"In the Upside Down?"

Will nodded.

"All right, so what happened next?"

"I heard this noise, and so I went outside, and it was worse."

"How was it worse?"

"There was this storm."

"Okay. So how did you feel when you saw the storm?"

"I felt... frozen."

"Heart racing?"

"Just frozen."

Cat felt herself grab onto Joyce's hand and the older woman wrapped her arm around the girl, neither one of them taking their eyes off of Will.

"Frozen, cold frozen? Frozen to the touch?"

"No. Like how you feel when you're scared, and you can't breathe or talk or do anything. I felt... felt this evil, like it was looking at me."

"It was evil? Well..." Owens cleared his throat. "What do you think the evil wanted?"

"To kill."

"To kill you?"

"Not me." Will turned his head so he was looking directly at the doctor instead of at the ceiling. "Everyone else."

***

_Edited: 13/4/2020_


	27. TWENTY FOUR; MADMAX

"All right, I'm gonna be honest with you." Doctor Owens said to Joyce, Hopper and Catherine as they sat in his office. Will was sat outside the room waiting for them. "It's probably gonna get worse before it gets better."

Cat's eyebrows furrowed as she tiredly leaned her head on Hopper's shoulder. Hopper glanced down at her before turning his attention back to Owens.

"Worse?" Joyce asked, leaning forward in her chair. "He's already had two episodes this month."

Cat bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if she should mention that she also experienced Will's last episode.

"He'll likely have more before the month is out." Owens explained. "It's called the Anniversary Effect. And we've seen this with soldiers. The anniversary of an effect brings back traumatic memories."

"Not shit." Cat muttered, all to familiar with what the doctor was talking about.

Owens ignored her and continued explaining. "Sort of opens up the neurological floodgates, so to speak."

"So what does this mean for the kid?" Hopper asked him. "He's gonna have more episodes, nightmares?"

Cat dug her nails into the palms of her hands, silently debating whether or not to bring up her little secret.

"Yeah, that. Maybe some personality changes. He might get irritable. He might lash out."

"What do we do when that happens?" Joyce asked.

"Okay. Well, from what we know about post-traumatic stress... And we're still learning, okay? Just treat him normally. Be patient with him. Don't pressure him to talk." Joyce nodded as the doctor spoke. "Just let him lead the way."

"I'm sorry, what you're saying is it's gonna get worse and worse and we're just supposed to pretend it's not happening?" Cat reached out and grabbed onto Joyce's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It sounds counterintuitive, I know. But I assure you that is really the best thing you can do for him. Listen. I understand what you went through last year. I get it."

Cat scoffed. She bet he didn't go through half the stuff they did; fighting off monsters and travelling into an alternate dimension to rescue someone they all loved dearly.

"But those people are gone." The doctor continued, leaning forward on his desk slightly. "They're gone. Okay?"

Cat couldn't help but have a feeling of dread, like Owens wasn't being completely truthful. And she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the bad men came back.

"So if we're gonna get through this, I just... I need you to realize I'm on your side. I need you to trust me."

"Yeah, that's a no." Cat whispered, barely loud enough for Hopper to hear. The Chief smiled slightly at the teen for a moment before disappearing and his face went back to being serious. Everyone knew that Cat barely trusted anyone now, specifically if they were a doctor and worked in an old lab, wearing white lab coats.

***

" 'Trust me'?" Joyce repeated the doctor's words to Hopper as they walked through the carpark behind the kids, Cat walking with her arm thrown over Will's shoulder. "Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah, I know. And I doubt Cat's gonna trust him, ever. You know how she is nowadays. But, you know, university gives out a degree, this guy's got it. And look, that post-traumatic stuff he's talking about, that stuff is real." Hopper placed a hand on Joyce's back in comfort. "He's gonna be okay. All right?"

The two adults walked in silence for a few seconds before Hopper spoke again to fill the silence. "How's Bob the Brain?"

"Don't call him that."

"Sorry. Old habit."

"He's good. We're good." Joyce told him, walking slightly ahead to reach her car where Cat was hugging Will goodbye and the two were exchanging 'See you laters'.

"Good. I'm happy for you. Really. Hey..." He trailed off as Joyce unlocked her car door. She turned to him. "Things get worse, you call me first. You call me."

"Okay." Joyce nodded as she threw her cigarette onto the ground. She pulled Cat into a quick hug, the two uttering goodbyes to each other before Joyce climbed into her little green car.

Cat waved at the two Byers as they drove away before climbing into Hopper's Chief of Police van.

***

Cat walked alongside Nancy and Steve as they approached the old house of Barbara Holland. Cat couldn't help but feel horrifically guilty about Barb's disappearance and death. Her faced paled as she thought about how she could have done more to help save Barb. The 'for sale' sign out on the front yard didn't help much either.

"You okay?" Steve whispered to her.

"Yeah..." Cat nodded, not convincing Steve that she was fine. "Just tired, that's all. You know what it's like after Will's hospital visits."

Steve nodded, not convinced that his best friend was okay.

"Okay. Ready?" Steve asked both Nancy and Catherine as they approached the front door.

"Yeah." Nancy said.

"Yeah, no." Cat answered.

Steve let out a sigh. "Okay. It's gonna be okay, Cat." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Cat felt butterflies erupt in her stomach but immediately pushed them away, knowing that it wasn't the time. Steve let go a second later and pushed the doorbell.

***

"I'm so sorry I didn't get to cook." Marsha, Mrs. Holland, apologised as they sat around the dining table eating KFC, which Cat was finding very difficult to stomach. "I was gonna make that baked ziti you guys like so much, but I just forgot about the time, and before you know it, 'Oh, my God, it's five o'clock'."

"It's fine." Nancy smiled at her. "It's great." The three teens nodded.

"Right. I love KFC." Steve agreed as he took a bite of chicken.

Cat only nodded, eating tiny pieces of the food.

"So, I noticed a 'for sale' sign out in your yard." Nancy told the Holland's.

Cat nodded. "Yeah. Is that the neighbours', or..." She trailed off.

The two adults shared a look. "You wanna tell them?" Marsha asked her husband.

"Go ahead."

Mrs. Holland turned to the three teens. "We hired a man named Murray Bauman. Have either of you heard of him?"

They shook their heads. "No."

"No, I don't think so."

"He was an investigative journalist for the _'Chicago Sun-Times'_.

"He's pretty well known." Mr. Holland handed Steve a business card with the man's details printed on it. Steve looked at it before passing it to Nancy who examined it as Cat leaned on her shoulder to look at it.

"Anyway, he's freelance now, and he agreed to take the case."

Cat nearly spat out her drink all over the table. "What?"

"That's... That's great." Steve told them through a mouthful of chicken. "No, that's really... That's great, right?" He looked at Nancy and Cat who didn't look as elated as the Hollands did.

"Um, what exactly does that mean?" Nancy asked them.

"Means he's gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hop-" Mr. Holland got cut off by his wife placing her hand on his arm to calm him down as Cat just scowled at him. "Sorry." He took a deep breath, calming down slightly. "What the Hawkins police haven't been capable of doing. Means we have a real detective on the case."

Cat slammed her fork down onto the table. "I'll have you know that Hopper did everything he could to find Barb. Maybe he didn't do the best job, but he did try his bet to find her. It's not his fault we have a shitty police force." Cat abruptly stood from her chair and stormed out of the house to get some air.

"We're sorry about Cat." Nancy apologised on her friend's behalf while Steve nodded along with her words. "She hasn't been feeling too great recently."

The Hollands just nodded, pretending like they understood.

"Anyway, it means..." Mrs. Holland continued, ignoring Cat's outburst. "We're going to find our Barb."

"If anyone can find her, it's this man." Mrs. Holland nodded at her husband while Nancy and Steve looked down at their food. "He already has leads. By God, he's worth every last penny."

Nancy looked up, her eyes moving back and forth between both adults. "Is that why you're selling the house?"

"Don't worry about us, sweetie. We're fine. More than fine. For the first time in a long time, we're hopeful."

Nancy looked down again. "Excuse me." She stammered out. "I'll be right back." She excused herself from the table and made her way into the bathroom. The guilt of knowing the truth about what happened to Barb was eating her up inside just as much as it did to Cat who was walking home, her eyesight blurry due to her tears.

She couldn't believe it. It wasn't Hopper's fault, or the fault of the police. What had happened to Barb was off the scale for the police and Hopper had to cover up the truth the best he could, even though it meant lying to Barb's parents. Cat couldn't help it as she broke down in the middle of the road, her legs collapsing under her as she sat in the middle of the street, tears pouring down her face as she thought of how hopeful her friend's parents had looked at the idea of finally finding their daughter. The guilt was eating her up inside and the volume of her secret- that she had been inside one of Will's episodes- didn't help her feelings. The guilt she had for leaving El and the boys ate her up inside too. She felt like she was going to burst. She wanted to be able to tell people the truth about everything that had happened in the past year. But she knew that couldn't happen, because she knew that with out a doubt, as soon as any information passed from her lips- she would be dead.

When she looked up and wiped the tears from her face, she nearly let out a scream. She wasn't in Hawkins anymore. At least not the Hawkins she new. She was back in the Upside Down. Her body began to shake in fear as she saw the same storm in the sky that she had seen when she was with the boys at the arcade. _There was no way she was back, right? It was all just an illusion. Like Owens said, the Anniversary Effect. That's all it was, right?_ But she had never experienced anything like this before. Not even around the anniversary of her fathers disappearance _._

As she focused more clearly on the sky, she spotted a huge figure looming above the town. Her body shook, again. _What was that?_ She could sense the darkness radiating from it. So she began to run, in the opposite direction to the creature. As she ran, she didn't notice the world around her change back to normal. Not until she reached her house and climbed under the safety of her duvet.

***

**A/N:**

_I'm writing this at like 2am so I apologise if this chapter made no sense. Thankyou for reading this piece of nonsense. I'm trying show Cat and Hopper's relationship as a father/daughter one and do the same with Joyce and Cat but as a mother/daughter relationship but I don't think I'm writing it that well._

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	28. TWENTY FIVE; Trick Or Treat, Freak

"Oh! I want to see those pearls. Yeah!" Claudia Henderson squealed as she took pictures of Dustin in his Ghostbuster costume. Dustin grinned as he held up the hand-made ghost trap thing. Catherine entered the room and headed straight for her cat, Mews, picking her up to cuddle her.

"Who you gonna call?!" The teen cried, scratching Mews' head, right behind her ears.

"Ghostbusters!" Dustin cried and the two began to sing the theme song while their mother took more photos.

"Oh, Catherine, pose with your brother." Claudia waved her eldest to stand next to Dustin and they posed for more pictures, Mews still in Catherine's arms.

A few minutes later, and after many more pictures being taken by Claudia, Cat finally placed Mews down on her favourite armchair. "Alright, I have to go. I'll see you later." She waved to her two family members before heading out the front door to her bike. She dusted the cat hair off of herself before hopping onto her bike and cycling to Hawkins' High School. _God, she really needed to get a car. And her licence._

***

Nancy and Steve greeted Cat as they met her outside the school library during their free period.

"What's up, Losers!" Cat called out to them, sending the two a smile.

"We're the losers?" Steve asked her, shoving her shoulder playfully. "You're the one covered in cat hair, Cat."

Catherine shrugged as she followed Nancy through the door to the library. "What can I say? I love my fur baby."

The three teens found a table to work at and placed their bags on the table before sitting down and starting the work they needed to do.

Catherine stared blankly at her maths paper, not understanding anything. She looked up when Nancy got up to go sharpen her pencil before turning her attention to Steve.

"Hey, Steve." She whispered, gaining the boy's attention. Steve looked at the small brunette who sat opposite him.

"What's up?"

"Maths. I don't fucking understand this shit."

Steve pulled the paper she was working on towards him to see what the girl was stuck on. His eyebrows furrowed as he read the equations Cat was trying to work out. "What are you meant to be doing?"

Catherine shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know what part of maths this is."

Steve's eyes moved from the maths work to Catherine. "How do you not know what part of maths this is? I'm not that good at maths, but even I would know what part of maths the homework is."

"I don't know. I just...." She let out a sigh as her fingers played with the hairband she wore on her wrist. "I haven't been able to focus with everything that's going on..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on Nancy. She tilted her head in confusion as Nancy continued to sharpen her pencil, noticing the girl's attention was elsewhere. "Hey, Steve."

Steve's eyes met Cat's and he stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

Cat looked away from Nancy so she was looking at her best friend. "Is Nancy okay?"

"I'm not sure." Steve replied honestly.

The two of them got up from their seats and walked over to their friend to see if she was alright.

"Nancy?" Cat called, trying to get the girl's attention.

Steve put her hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Nancy." Nancy jumped out of her trance, looking at Steve with wide eyes. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Nancy turned her face away from her two friends and Cat followed her gaze to a girl who looked slightly similar to Barb. Her mouth formed a small 'O' as she understood. Steve looked to where the two girls were looking, his hand still on Nancy's shoulder.

***

"I can't keep doing this." Nancy said as the three of them stood in a private room of the library.

"Doing what?" Steve asked her.

"Pretending like everything's okay." Nancy elaborated. Cat nodded, knowing exactly how Nancy felt.

"What are you talking about?"

"Barbara. It's like everyone forgot."

"Well, I didn't. I don't think I could ever forget Barb." Cat said, shifting her body so she could sit more comfortably on top of the table.

"It's like nobody cares. Except her parents." Nancy continued.

"And us." Cat pointed out, placing her hand on Nancy's arm to try and provide some form of comfort to her friend.

"And now they're selling their house-" Nancy began to ramble.

"Nance-" Steve tried.

"And they're going to spend the rest of their lives looking for her."

"I know."

"It's destroying them."

Cat bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the guilt start to build up inside her again. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take before she accidentally spilled the truth to someone. And to make matters worse, she was still shaken up about the so-called episode she had last night.

"I know. Okay? I get it. But listen, there's nothing we can do about it."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Nancy, Stevie here does have a point." Cat said as she fiddled with her hairband again.

"No. We could tell them the truth."

"And get ourselves killed? No, no thanks." Cat said, her hands moving to fiddle with the locket around her neck.

"Cat has a point. You know we can't do that."

"We don't have to tell them everything."

"This isn't some game, Nance. Cat's right. If they found out that we told any..." He paused, going over to blinds and pulling them shut so that no one could see into the room and read their lips. He walked back over the girls. "They could put us in jail. Okay? Or worse, they could destroy our families. And like Cat mentioned earlier, they could kill us. They could do anything they want. Okay? Just think about what you're saying."

Cat nodded her head, agreeing with Steve while Nancy just stood there in silence. Cat rubbed her hand up and down Nancy's arm, trying to comfort the girl.

"Hey..." Steve placed his hand on Nancy's arm, sitting next to Catherine on the table as Nancy stared at the floor, her arms crossed over her chest. "Hey, hey... Hey, it's..." Steve sighed. "It's hard, but let's... let's just go to Tina's stupid party..." Nancy's gaze moved from the floor to Steve, their eyes meeting. It made Cat feel like she was intruding on an important moment between the two. "Wear our stupid costumes that we've been working on for a stupid amount of time," Steve continued, moving closer to Nancy, "and just pretend like we're stupid teenagers, okay? Can we just do that, just for tonight?"

"Okay." Nancy answered.

Steve nodded. "Come here." He pulled her into a hug and the two wrapped their arms around each other. Cat took that as her queue to leave, her stomach dropping at the sight of her two best friends- one of them being her huge crush.

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	29. TWENTY SIX; Trick Or Treat, Freak

Billy Hargrove's car sped down the road, music playing loudly from the radio. "God, this place is such a shithole." Billy announced as his car raced down the road.

"It's not that bad." Max defended.

"No?" Billy questioned, rolling down the car's window. He inhaled the air deeply. "Mmm!" He put his hand over nose to block the smell. "You smell that, Max? That's actually shit." He turned his head towards her. "Cow shit."

"I don't see anyone cows." Max rolled up her window as Billy put both hands on the wheel again.

"Clearly, you haven't met the high-school girls. Especially psycho Cat Henderson. God, what a bitch." Billy scoffed as Max ignored him. _Was he talking about Dustin's older sister? She'd definitely heard him and those other boys talking about her._ "So what, you like it here now?"

"No." Max answered quickly, her eyes not moving from the road in front of them.

"Then why are you defending it?"

"I'm not."

"Sure sounds like."

"It's just we're stuck here, so..."

"Hmm. You're right. We're stuck here." He looked over to her. "And whose fault is that?"

"Yours." Max mumbled.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing." Max's voice was still quiet.

"Did you say it's my fault?"

"No."

"You know whose fault it is. Say it."

Max didn't respond.

"Max... say it."

The small red-head stayed quiet, shutting her eyes when Billy leaned over to her, the car still moving at lightning speed, and screamed in her face. "Say it!" His foot pushed harder on the accelerator, speeding up the car even more, his hands hitting the wheel in time to the music that was still playing over the radio.

Max's eyes widened in fear when she saw three familiar figures in Ghostbuster costumes cycling ahead of them. Billy was sure to hit them with his car at the speed he was driving.

"Billy, slow down." Max shouted over the loud music that was blaring from the radio.

"Oh, these your new hick friends?"

"No I don't know them." Max stuttered out quickly.

"I guess you won't care if I hit 'em, then? Huh?" Max looked at the boys in worry as they were fast approaching them. She needed Billy to slow down. "I get bonus points, I get 'em all in one go?"

Max shook her head, turning in her seat to face her step-brother. "No, Billy, stop. It's not funny."

Billy just looked at her, a bored expression on his face as he continued to bounce his hands off of the steering wheel. He revved the engine, speeding the car up even more.

"Billy, come on, stop it." Max screamed at him, desperately trying to get him to slow down. "It's not funny. Stop!"

Billy showed no signs of stopping the car as he sped it up even more, if that was even possible.

"Billy, stop it!" Max yelled at him, her hands reaching to the wheel in hopes of steering the car away from the only people who had tried to befriend her. The car swerved, luckily avoiding Dustin, Mike and Lucas- the former of which swearing like a sailor. There was no way in hell he wasn't telling his sister about what had just happened.

"Yeah!" Billy screamed, turning to face Max. "That was a close one, huh?" Billy laughed as Max turned in her seat, looking through the back window to see if the boys were alright.

***

Cat stood in her room, looking at the clothes in her closet, trying to work out what she could make into a costume. Unlike everyone else, she hadn't picked out a costume forever ago and so all her clothes had been thrown across the room during her search for something to wear. Cat let out a sigh as Dustin opened the door.

"Hey, Kit- Woah! What happened in here?" He asked as he took in the mess of her room.

Cat sat down on her bed, making sure she wasn't sitting on any clothes. "I can't find anything to wear as a Halloween costume."

"Well, I don't know how well I can help you, you know, seeing how I'm not a girl or anything... So why don't you call Nancy and ask her for help?"

Cat ruffled Dustin's hair. "Thanks Dusty. I hope I don't make you late for meeting your friends."

"It's fine. I'm sure they'll understand... well they won't but that's not the point."

Catherine laughed as her brother left the room before walking over to the phone that lived on her dresser. She dialled in the Wheeler's number and hoped Nancy would be the one to pick up the phone.

"Hello, this is the Wheeler's. May I ask who's speaking?"

It wasn't Nancy. Cat had to hold back a sigh, not wanting to seem rude.

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. It's Catherine. Um, is Nancy there? I kinda need to speak to her."

"I'll put her on the phone."

The line was silent for a few minutes, with the exception of Mrs. Wheeler's muffled voice calling out for Nancy.

"Hey, Cat." Nancy's voice finally came through the receiver, after what felt like forever. "What's up?"

"I don't know what to wear." Cat stated quickly. "I'm going trick-or-treating with the boys, which you already knew, and I don't have a costume."

"So, you're not coming to the party then?"

"Um... I might swing by later once the boys have finished asking people for candy."

"Oh okay. Cool. I so hope you come by the party. It won't be as fun without you there."

"But Nancy, you know party's aren't my scene...." Nancy nodded, even though she knew Cat couldn't see her over the phone. "And besides, I can't go to a Halloween party or trick-or-treating without a costume. I'll look like a loser."

"Right. Well, we can't have that, can we?" Nancy thought for a moment before having an idea. "You have a pair of black leggings, right?"

"Uh, yeah. But they're very tight on me. Why?"

Nancy ignored her question, asking more of her own. "And you still have my old black off-the-shoulder top, right? And I know for sure you have a black leather jacket."

"Uh, yeah. I have those. Why, what's your idea?"

"Okay, so all you have to do is curl your hair and pin it up. And I'm pretty sure you have a pair of red heels you can wear."

"Nance, where are you going with this?"

"Sandy. You could be Sandy from Grease!"

"Oh! Yes! And it works because that's like my favourite film!" Cat squealed down the phone. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thank you Nance. Thank you so much. You're the best. And I will totally try to swing by Tina's later."

The two exchanged 'goodbyes' and 'see you laters' before hanging up. Cat raced round her room, trying to piece together the look Nancy had suggested. The small brunette pulled on the clothes, struggling with the tight black leggings. For some reason they were the only pair she owned and she knew that she'd have to buy some more that weekend. She searched under the mountain of clothes in her room to find the black off-the-shoulder top Nancy had given her, pulling it over her head. She adjusted the sleeves before walking over to her dressing table to do her makeup. She used her foundation, making sure to blend it in properly before applying a light amount of blush. After that she moved onto her eyes, going around them with some eyeliner before adding mascara to her eyelashes. She smiled at herself in her mirror as she applied some red lipstick.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door as she grabbed her curling wand. "Yes?" She called out, wrapping strands of her hair around the curling wand.

Dustin poked his head around the door. "Wonderful. You have a costume." His eyes landed on the curling wand she had her hair wrapped around. "Uh, I don't want to rush you, but the others are yelling at me through the walkie-talkie because we're gonna be late meeting them. So, uh, yeah."

"Dusty, don't worry. This shouldn't take me that long. And I won't make you late, I promise." Catherine smiled at her younger brother before turning back to the task of doing her hair. Dustin left her room, shutting the door behind him, and went to wait for her by the front door.

Roughly five minutes later Cat finished spraying some Farrah Fawcett hairspray over her curls and was grabbing her red heels from the bottom of her closet. She made her way into the living room, slipping the shoes over her feet.

"Finally, you're ready! Now you can take me trick-or-treating!" Dustin cried at the sight of his sister.

"Yes, I'm ready." Cat shook her head slightly. "Although I don't know how I'm gonna cycle in these bad boys." She pointed to her shoes. "I've had them on for two minutes and they're already killing my feet."

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	30. TWENTY SEVEN; Trick Or Treat, Freak

"Will! Hey!" Dustin called out to him as him, Lucas, Mike and Cat walked across Mike's lawn.

Cat walked over to Jonathan's car as he pulled up with Will.

"Hey, Will." Cat greeted as he ran past her towards the other boys.

"Hey, Cat!" He called back. "Nice costume!"

Cat grinned. "Yours is way better than mine." She walked up to Jonathan's car, the boy rolling down the window as she leaned in to speak to him.

"Hey, Sandy." Jonathan greeted, recognising her costume immediately from all the times she made him watch _'Grease'_. And each time she would sing loudly along with the songs, singing each and every part.

"Hey, Jonathan." She frowned, realising he wasn't getting out of his car. "You not coming trick-or-treating with us tonight? Don't tell me you're ditching me for that stupid party."

"Well, Will said he doesn't want me going with him this year, so I've got to go do something, right?" Cat didn't answer as she looked over at the boys, watching them mess around. "And besides, they'll be fine on their own."

"On their own?! You say that as if I'm not going to be looking after them. Trick-or-treating is the best part of this holiday."

"You only say that because you hate horror films."

Cat shrugged. "You're right. But also, who doesn't love asking random people for free candy?"

"Wait, you're not going to the party?"

Cat laughed. "You really think I'd want to socialise with people and get absolutely flat-out drunk?"

"Well, yeah. You do drink a lot, Cat."

"Yes, but not around people I hate. Besides, I mentioned to Nance that I might pop by the party later, once these-" She pointed her thumb in the direction of the boys. "-Are all at home, shoving candy down their throats."

Jonathan nodded. "Well, then I guess I'll see you later then."

Catherine nodded, noticing that he was still nervous about leaving Will. "Look, he'll be fine. I'll look after him and the others. It'll be fine, Jonathan." She sent him a smile and patted him on the arm reassuringly before moving away from the car and walking over to her little group of Ghostbusters.

***

Billy made his way through the crowd at the party towards Steve Harrington who was dancing with Nancy, Tommy H. and some over dark-haired boy following him.

"We got ourselves a new Keg King, Harrington." Tommy patted Billy on the back as they approached the former king of Hawkins High.

"Yeah, that's right!" Billy said as he got closer to Steve.

"Yeah. Eat it, Harrington." The other dark-haired boy added.

Nancy rolled her eyes and walked away to get a cup of what was apparently "Pure fuel!"

"Where's your pretty little friend, Harrington?" Billy asked.

Steve removed the sunglasses from his face so he could stare at the boys properly.

"Yeah," Tommy joined in. "Where's that little bitch, Henderson?"

Steve rolled his eyes, shoving Tommy back slightly. "She's not a bitch. Don't call her that." He turned around and walked away, over to Nancy who was pouring herself another cup of whatever the alcohol drink was.

Steve leaned against the kitchen counter next to his girlfriend. "Hey... Whoa, whoa!" He tried to stop her from pouring another drink. "Hey... Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy." He reached a hand out to her. "Take it easy. Nance, Nance, Nance..."

Nancy swallowed the drink. "We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?" She poured herself another cup before downing it and heading into the crowd of drunk teenagers.

Steve turned around, his eyes searching the party for Catherine, not seeing her anywhere. Not that he'd recognise her since this was a Halloween party. He wondered where she was and why she wasn't hanging out with him.

***

The four Ghostbusters and Sandy rang the doorbell at yet another house.

"Well, aren't you cute?" The lady who opened the door greeted them, a bowl of candy in her hands. "The little exterminators." Cat rolled her eyes. The woman's eyes landed on her and looked her up and down for a moment, not understanding who she was. "And who are you, dear?"

"Sandy. You know, from Grease?" The woman stared at her blankly. "Well I know it's a bit difficult to tell because I'm practically the same height as middle schoolers, even in heels. But it's not my fault that Olivia Newton-John is ridiculously tall."

The woman just smiled at her and nodded, her attention turning back to the boys, holding out the bowl of candy.

***

Lucas sighed as they walked down the street. "If I get another 3 Musketeers, I'm gonna kill myself."

"Bit dramatic there, Sinclair." Cat scoffed.

"What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?" Dustin asked.

Cat nodded. "Exactly. What's wrong with them?" She cocked an eyebrow.

" 'What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?'" Lucas mocked.

"No one likes 3 Musketeers." Mike added.

"Um, excuse me?!" Cat cried, mouth opening in shock.

"Yeah, it's just nougat." Will said, agreeing with Mike and Lucas.

"You're taking their side, Will?" Cat asked, pretending to take offense. "I though you were my favourite!"

"Sorry." Will said meekly.

Cat threw her arm around his shoulders, being careful to avoid the Proton-pack. "Nah, I'm kidding. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Except theirs," she pointed to Mike and Lucas, "theirs are just wrong."

"Exactly." Dustin agreed. " 'Just nougat'? Just nougat? It is top three for me."

"Top three?" Lucas questioned.

"Top three!" Dustin confirmed.

Cat nodded. "Yeah. It's like the only chocolate that doesn't make my throat close up."

"Oh, God. Give me a break." Mike complained.

"Seriously, I can just eat a whole bowl of nougat. Straight up."

"Yeah, no. There's no way I can do that." Cat said, stumbling slightly in her shoes.

Suddenly a kid with a fake knife and wearing a Michael Myers mask jumped out in front of them. The boys screamed, Lucas' particularly high-pitched and Cat let out a gasp, on the verge of a panic attack. Cat could feel her chest start to tighten and she struggled for air. She placed a hand on her chest to try and control her breathing. She had to be fine for the kids. She wouldn't allow herself to get in such a state around them.

The kid took off the mask as they began to laugh, revealing the red-head that Cat saw the day before when she was with Nancy and Steve in the parking lot.

"Holy shit! You should have seen the look on your faces." She pointed at Lucas. "And you? Who screams like that? You sound like a little girl."

"I'm sorry," Cat managed to breathe out. "I don't mean to be rude, really, I don't. But who exactly are you?"

"Oh," The young red-head turned to Cat. "I'm Max. I just moved here."

Cat recognised the Californian accent. "Cool. Uh, nice to meet you Max. I'm Catherine, but, um, you can call me Cat." She held a hand out for Max to shake. Max shook the older girl's hand and smiled at her, already sensing that she was someone she could trust. Something occurred to Cat. "You, um, didn't happen to move here with a, um, Billy Hargrove, did you?"

Max's face fell. "Oh, he's my step-brother." She paused for a moment. "Wait, Cat Henderson?" The older teen nodded. "My step-brother mentioned you earlier." Cat raised an eyebrow as Max turned to Mike, Dustin and Lucas. "Sorry that Billy nearly ran you over earlier."

Cat's eyes widened. "He did what?!" She whipped around to face the boys, who said nothing. "I'm gonna kill him." Cat seethed.

Dustin reached over and grabbed her hand. "I'd prefer if you waited till like, tomorrow.."

"Sure. But I'm gonna kill him. No one tries to hurt my boys."

"You're what?" Lucas asked.

Max started walking ahead of the group, turning back around to face them once she realised they hadn't moved. "Hey, you guys coming or not? Oh, I heard we should hit up Loch Nora. That's where the rich people live, right?" She chuckled and started walking away from the group. "Oh, and feel free to kill my step-brother. He's a dick and deserves it anyway." She called over her shoulder to Cat who was still seething with anger.

Dustin and Lucas both shared a grin, crying out a "yeah!" before following Max, Will walking with them. Mike however stayed where he was, not wanting to hang out with the new girl.

"I would love to stay with you guys. But I have an asshole to murder." Cat announced as she began to walk in the direction of Tina's house.

***

Cat approached the party, her face contorting into one of disgust at the sight of so many of her peers being black-out drunk. She was pretty sure she passed someone vomiting out on the front lawn as she walked up to the front door.

As she stepped inside, she kept an eye out for her friends, wondering where abouts in this hell hole they were. Her eyes landed on Billy standing in the kitchen as he flirted with some girl she'd never spoken to before. Cat stormed through the crowd of drunk teens and up to Billy who towered above her, not finding her threatening at all. She shoved him with all of her strength and watched as he stumbled back into the kitchen counter, knocking the bowl of punch to the floor.

"I told you she's psycho!" Tommy yelled from the side of the kitchen where he had previously been making out with Carol.

"What was that for Henderson? Jealous I'm not flirting with you?"

Cat laughed. "Yeah, right. No, I'm pissed because I hear that you tried to run over my younger brother and his friends earlier today."

"Oh yeah? And who told you that?"

"Oh, I have my ways of finding out things." She shoved him again. "No one messes with my boys." She raised her arm to punch him in the face but he grabbed it and threw her to the floor. Her head hit the floor with a _'thud'_ and she wished she knew where Steve was so she could have a little bit of back-up.

Slowly, Cat stood up, using the counter to help balance her. Once she had steadied herself, she threw her arm at the tall boy, this time managing to land a punch.

A crowd had formed around them, chants of 'fight, fight, fight' ringing out through the room.

Billy's face turned red as he turned back to face her. "You shouldn't have done that. You bitch!" He grabbed her arm forcefully and shoved her forward into the counter. Her head thumped against the counter-top as Billy held her down by her neck.

Cat let out a scream and kicked her legs up, hitting right on target. Billy groaned in pain and loosed his grip for a moment. But it was long enough for Cat to free herself from his grasp. Somehow she managed to pin him against the wall, the crowd of drunk teens moving out of the way. Cat punched him in the face, sending his face into the wall. She stood on her tip-toes, something that wasn't very threatening, and spat in his face.

"No one-" She yelled in his face, "No one messes with my boys and gets away with it! Got it?!"

Billy let out a laugh. "God, you look so fuckable when you're angry."

Cat's face turned red with anger as she punched him the face again. "I said, no one messes with my boys and gets away with it! Do I make myself clear?!" She screamed.

"Sure, Doll. I hear you." Billy licked his lips and moved his face closer to hers. "I could just kiss you right now." He whispered.

Cat let out a scream of frustration and threw her head into his, headbutting him. She stepped away from him. "Fuck you Billy Hargrove." She screamed as she stormed away from him, throwing up her middle finger at him.

"Of course you will, Doll. You can't get enough of me."

Cat rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she left Tina's house, storming down the road.

***

At some point on her long walk home, the world around her changed into the Upside Down and Cat knew that Will was experiencing it too. She felt guilty for leaving him when she told Jonathan that she would stay with him and the other boys. Cat wondered where they were now, if Will was okay.

She looked up at the sky and saw the same creature she saw the previous night. She couldn't help but let out a scream. It seemed even more terrifying that it had before. She wasn't even sure why she was the only other person who experienced Will's episodes.

She ran, her legs taking her in the direction of her home. She barely noticed the Upside Down disappear, and when she did she slowed down to catch her breath. It was the most scared she had ever felt over one of those experiences and decided that she should probably tell someone.

As she approached her door she spied a figure sat on her doorstep. As she got closer she made out the figure to be Steve and decided that he was going to be the person she told about her feelings.

But that all went away when she saw how upset he looked. His problems were more important than hers. Her issues could wait.

Cat took a seat on the porch steps next to Steve. "Hey, Steve."

"Hey, Kit-Cat. I didn't see you at the party."

"I was trick-or-treating with the boys." She turned to face him. Crossing her legs, she placed her elbows on her knees and leant her face on her hands. "What's up? You haven't called me 'Kit-Cat' since we were ten and you got into a fight with your dad."

Steve sighed. He turned to face her, his body mirroring hers. "I think Nancy broke up with me." He uttered sadly.

Cat let out an 'Oh', waiting for Steve to elaborate on what happened. She figured it was better to save the questions for after he'd finished his story.

"She called our relationship bullshit. That I'm bullshit. That we killed Barb. She doesn't love me. I..." Steve stumbled over his words, trying not to cry in front of his best friend.

"You can cry, you know. This is a judge free zone." Cat reassured him. "Well, unless Dustin or my mom sees you." She joked, placing one of her hands on his and rubbed circles over the back of it.

"I don't think she ever loved me." Steve whispered, letting the tears slide down his face.

Cat pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him.

They sat on the porch in silence for a few minutes before Steve noticed blood on the back of Cat's hand. He pulled out of the hug, holding her hand in his.

"What happened to you?" He looked at her face, his eyes scanning for any bruises that might be forming.

"Billy." Cat answered simply with a shrug.

"What did he do now?" Steve asked, sounding angry.

"I got into a fight with him."

"What? Why? He's like twice your size."

"Because he nearly ran over Dustin, Mike and Lucas. Okay? And no one messes with them and-"

"Gets away with it." Steve finished. He examined her knuckles closer, seeing the skin was ripped slightly and covered with dried blood. "We should probably get you cleaned up."

Cat nodded. "What a bunch of losers we are." She laughed.

Steve smiled at her, glad he had his best friend with him. It was then he noticed her Halloween costume. "Wait. Are you Sandy from Grease?"

"Of course. Who else would I be?"

Steve nodded, already feeling slightly better. "Why don't we get you cleaned up and go watch Grease, Sandy?"

Cat laughed. "Sure. Who would I be if I said no to watching my all-time favourite film?"

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	31. TWENTY EIGHT; The Pollywog

Dustin crept through the front door, careful not to disturb the two teens in the front room who were passed out on the couch in front of the T.V. Dustin briefly glanced at the screen, recognising the all to familiar titles of Cat's favourite film, 'Grease'. He was careful to step over the empty beer bottles that Catherine had left on the floor, not wanting to disturb his sister and her best friend, the two cuddled up together.

He made it through the room and to the hallway hoping he could head straight to his room. As he walked past the entrance to the living room, Claudia spotted him and jumped up from her seat to greet him.

"Dusty! Dusty, how was it?"

Dustin turned to face his mom and stammered, "How was what?"

Mews the cat walked around the woman's legs before heading into the front room to cuddle up with Catherine.

" 'How was what?' The greatest night of the year, of course. I see Catherine had fun." Her head tilted to the room where her eldest was passed out, head resting on Steve's shoulder.

"Oh. Oh, yeah, it was... It was, uh, tubular."

Claudia noticed that Dustin was acting slightly strange. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Did something happen?"

"No. What? No."

"Are you constipated again?"

"No. Mom!"

"Okay, you're acting weird."

"I am not acting weird!" Dustin's voiced raised slightly and the two turned their heads towards the front room to see Cat shift slightly in her sleep. They didn't want to accidentally wake her up, both knowing that recently she wasn't sleeping much.

It was then that a thudding came from the trap Dustin carried.

"Whoa!" Dustin cried, trying to keep the box steady while Claudia let out an 'Ah!', taking a step back.

Dustin laughed nervously, looking down at the box. From the other room they could hear Mews begin to hiss at the box.

"Awesome, right? Yeah... I rigged the trap with, uh, a motor to make it look like I caught a ghost." Dustin lied quickly, smiling at his mom. "Just like the movie."

Claudia laughed nervously. "Oh, Dusty."

"Yeah." Dustin laughed.

The two continued to laugh for a moment, hoping to not accidentally wake the sleeping teens. "Funny. Look at that." Dustin pointed to the trap. "Look at that." He walked away down the hall to his room.

When he entered his room, he made sure to close the door behind him, locking it. He held the trap up so it was eye level. "I told you to keep quiet." He carried over to the tank in his room where he kept his pet turtle. "All you had to do was stay still for one minute. One minute." He placed the trap on the desk next to the tank before removing the lid and carefully lifting the turtle out. "Sorry, Yertle. Temporary eviction, buddy." He placed Yertle on the carpet before picking the trap up and opening it, allowing his newly discovered creature to fall into the tank. Dustin bent down to examine the small creature. "What are you, little guy?"

The creature crawled out of the red light and into the shade of a piece of tree bark.

"What were you doing in my trash?" The creature let out a small noise. "You hungry?"

The small, curly-haired boy emptied his newly collect candy onto his bed before picking up a 3 Musketeers bar. He grinned before breaking tiny pieces off of it and placing them in the tank for the creature to eat. Dustin bit into the rest of the chocolate bar, waiting for the creature to crawl into the light and eat the food left out for him.

"Nougat." The boy stated as the creature took a few steps out of the darkness. "Go on, eat."

The creature let out a screech and scurried back into the shade, out of the way of the light.

Dustin looked at the light that stood over the tank. "Too hot?" He asked, switching the light off. "Sorry about that, little guy." He chuckled as the small creature nibbled on the pieces of nougat. "You like nougat, too, huh? It's my sister's favourite because it's the only thing that doesn't close up her throat. She's allergic to a lot of sweets. You're pretty cute, you know that? I'm glad I found you." Dustin chuckled again. He looked at the wrapper of the candy bar before looking back at the nougat eating creature in the tank. "D'Artagnan. I'm gonna call you D'Artagnan." Dustin grinned.

***

The next day, Catherine sat on the benches in the gym, watching Steve practice basketball. She constantly yelled encouragements at him, and only occasionally threw insults at Billy who was playing on the team opposite Steve.

Steve currently had the ball, coming face to face with Billy, who of course wasn't wearing a shirt. _Did he ever even wear one? He wasn't wearing one at the Halloween party either._

Steve grunts, trying to get past the new guy.

"Harrington, right? I heard you used to run this school. That true? King Steve, they used to call you, huh? Then you turned bitch and started hanging out with that alcoholic psycho, Henderson. Although, I do have to say, I wouldn't mind getting a little bit of that."

Steve tried to get past him, still having possession of the ball. "Hey, maybe you should just shut up and just play the game. And don't think for a moment you're getting near Cat. She doesn't need anyone else hurting her."

Billy shoved him, grabbing possession of the ball as Steve fell to the ground.

Cat stood up from her seat, running to the side to see if he was alright. "Steve. You okay? Did he say something to you?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm fine. But stay away from him, he's a dick and I don't need you getting hurt."

Cat helped him up, watching as Billy shot the ball into the hoop. "What makes you think I'd even talk to him? He nearly ran the boys over, remember? He's not worth my time. But I'll happily punch him again."

"That's what I'm talking about! Whoo!" Billy yelled, walking back over to Steve.

"Steve?" A voice called from the doorway. Steve and Cat looked over to see Nancy standing there.

Steve looked back at Cat, who just nodded. "Go, I'll be here if you need me. But I really think you two should talk." Steve sent her a small smile before walking outside the gym to speak to Nancy.

***

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, his hands crossed over his chest.

"What do you think? Where were you this morning? I missed first period."

"I figured Jonathan would take you." Steve shrugged.

"Wha- What are you talking about?"

Steve scoffed. "Jesus, you really can't handle your alcohol. Uh... You remember going to Tina's party last night, right?"

"Yes."

"And then what?"

"I remember dancing, and looking around for Cat who I'm sure I saw punch Billy, and... spilling some punch. You got mad at me because I was drunk... and then you took me home."

Steve scoffed. "No, see, that's where your mind gets a little bit fuzzy. That was your other boyfriend. That was... That was Jonathan. Because I went over to Cat's house and watched her drunkenly sing along to 'Grease' after her fight with Billy."

"I don't understand. Wait, you went to Cat's house?!"

"It's pretty simple, Nancy. You were just telling it like it is." Steve answered, ignoring her question about Cat.

"What?"

"Uh..." Steve shrugged. "Apparently, uh... me, you and Cat, we killed Barb and I don't care, 'cause I'm bullshit... and our whole... our whole relationship is bullshit, and... I mean, pretty much everything is just bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Oh, yeah, also, you don't love me."

"I was drunk, Steve. I don't remember any of that."

"So that makes everything that you said.. It's what? Just bullshit, too?"

"Yes."

"Well, then tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"You love me."

"Really?"

The door banged opened and Cat stepped outside. "I don't mean to interrupt but, um, Steve?" Steve and Nancy turned to face their friend. "That douchebag is killing your team and they said they need you."

"All right. I'll be there in a second." He snapped, not meaning to sound so rude.

She raised her hands in the air as if she was surrendering. "Don't shoot the messenger." Steve sent her an apologetic look and she sent him a small smile before she turned around and walked back through the door, leaving the two to finish their conversation.

Steve looked expectantly at Nancy for an answer, but she didn't give him one.

"I think that you're bullshit." He muttered as walked back to the basketball game.

***

"His name is D'Artagnan." Dustin told Mike, Will, Lucas and Max as they looked down at the creature that sat in the ghost trap. It was lunch and they were gathered in the AV club, looking at Dustin's discovery.

Dustin picked up the creature and held it in his hands and the others leaned in to get a closer look.

"Cute, right?"

"D'Artagnan?" Mike questioned, staring at his friend.

"Dart for short."

"And he was in your trash?" Max asked him.

"Foraging for food." Dustin told her. "You wanna hold him?"

"No, no." Max backed away from Dustin, not wanting to be near Dart.

"He doesn't bite."

"I don't want to-" She cut herself off as Dart was placed in her hands. "Oh, God, he's slimy!" She passed Dart to Lucas who pulled a face of disgust.

"Ugh, he's like a living booger." He complained as he passed it to Will.

"Ugh, oh, God!" Will also looked horrified at the creature in his hands. He passed Dart to Mike who stared at it, bringing it closer to his face.

"What is he?"

"My question exactly." Dustin answered.

"Does Cat know about this?" Lucas asked.

"Not yet. She was passed out with Steve on the couch when I found him."

"Let me guess, they were watching 'Grease'?"

Dustin nodded, showing that Lucas was right, as he pulled the books he took from the library from his bag and placed them onto the desk, turning the conversation back to Dart. "At first, I thought is was some type of pollywog."

"Pollywog?" Max questioned.

"It's another word for tadpole." Max nodded in understanding. "A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad."

"I know what a tadpole is."

"All right, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" He opened one of the books. "Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water."

"Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked.

"Terrestrial pollywogs?" Dustin looked at Lucas. "Yep. Two to be exact." He turned the pages of the book. " _Indirana semipalmata._ " He opened another book. "And the _Adenomera andreae._ One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"

"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Max suggested.

"Do you guys see that?" Mike asked as he leaned in slightly closer to Dart. "Looks like something is moving inside of it."

The group leaned in closer to Dart, Mike moving the lamp so the light was shining over the creature. Dart screeched and the kids gasped and moved back as it jumped off the table.

"Whoa." Dustin said, reaching his hand out to catch Dart before he landed on the floor. "It's okay. It's okay." He comforted the slimy creature. "I got you, little guy." The group stared at him weirdly as he continued talking to Dart. "I know you don't like that. It's okay." Dustin looked up from Dart to explain something else to his friends. "And there's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."

"So, if he's not a pollywog or a reptile..." Lucas trailed off.

"Then I've discovered a new species." Dustin smiled.

The ringing of the school bell shook them out of their trance and they all scrambled to pick up their bags.

"We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke." Lucas told them as they walked out of the AV room.

"No. What if he steals my discovery?"

"He's not gonna steal your discovery." Mike told him.

"You know, I'm thinking about calling it _Dustonius pollywogus_. What do you think?"

"I think you're an idiot." Max told him as she fell in line with the boys.

"When I become rich and famous for this one day, don't come crawling back, saying, 'Oh, my God, Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade. Oh, my god.'"

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	32. TWENTY NINE; The Pollywog

Cat sat on the top of Steve's car as he told her about his conversation with Nancy.

"-And then right before you came out of the gym, I asked her to tell me if she loved me and... she didn't answer." He ran a hand down his face. "I just don't know what to do anymore, Kit-Cat. I don't know what to do."

Cat pulled him into a hug. "It'll be okay. I promise. I don't know how guys deal with situations like this but I know for certain what girls do."

Steve rose an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this, Kit-Cat?"

Cat pulled away from the boy. "Why don't you come over and we watch a film and eat our feelings out in ice-cream."

"That's... That's not a bad idea. What film?"

Cat tilted her head to the side. "I have 'Footloose'. I think mom brought it last month."

Before Steve could reply, a static noise erupted from Cat's bag. The short brunette sighed and zipped open her bag, pulling out the walkie-talkie that The Party got her for Christmas.

 _"Kit. Kit, are you there?"_ Dustin's voice called through the radio.

Cat pulled the walkie-talkie closer to her face as she spoke into it. "Yes, Dustin? What is it? I'm in the middle of helping a friend through a crisis."

Steve frowned at the girl and whispered, "A crisis? I'm not going through a crisis!"

Cat shushed him. "Yes you are. Dustin what the fuck is it?"

_"I'll explain when you get here. Forget Steve. This is more important!"_

"More important than watching 'Footloose' and crying into a big tub of ice-cream?"

_"Yes. Now get your butt over here and meet us in the AV room."_

Cat sighed as she put the walkie-talkie back into her bag, jumping off the hood of Steve's car. "You heard him, it's important."

Steve slid off his car and grabbed Cat's bike from the ground, handing it to her. "Go, knowing them it is more important."

Cat frowned, not wanting to leave her heartbroken friend. But she knew he was right, whatever the boys had gotten into now, it was probably very important. Especially if they were recruiting her. "I promise, we'll still stuff our faces with ice-cream and watch 'Footloose' later, okay?"

Steve nodded. "I'll be over at eight."

Cat sent him one last smile before hopping onto her bike and cycling over to the middle school. Once she was no longer in sight, Steve climbed into his car and started the drive home, smiling to himself- glad to have a friend like Catherine Henderson.

***

Cat walked up to the AV club door, spotting Max banging on it to try and get in.

"Hey, Max." She greeted.

Max just huffed in annoyance.

"They not letting you in?" Cat asked her.

"No."

Cat banged furiously on the door.

"No, you cant come in yet, Max!" The boys called through the door.

"It's me, you little shits." Catherine called, her fists resting on the door. She was about to knock again, after getting no response, when the door was yanked open and she was tugged inside the dark room, the door shutting behind, leaving Max outside.

"Why the fuck am I allowed in, but Max isn't?" Cat asked them as she walked up to the box sitting on the table. "You know it's rude to not include people, right?"

"Cat, shut up. It's important."

Catherine raised her hands to her head. "Alright, I'll shut up. Now, what the hell was so important I had to postpone shoving my face full of ice-cream and watching 'Footloose'?"

"I don't understand." Lucas told them.

"Well neither do I. Join the club." Cat sighed, leaning her arm on Dustin's shoulder.

"What do you not understand?" Mike asked.

"Uh, everything." Cat replied sarcastically.

"Will saw something that looked like Dart last year?"

"Kind of, but there was no tail." Will explained.

"Who the fuck is Dart?!"

"The thing in the box." Dustin told her. Cat's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?!"

"But then he heard it yesterday." Mike continued to explain. "The exact same sound. And we think Cat did too."

Cat looked over at Will. He had told Mike that she also experienced episodes like he did.

"Wait. What? Kit too?" Dustin turned to her to see his sister shrug. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I wasn't sure."

The boys turned to Cat. "I didn't want to worry you guys. And besides, I'm just as clueless as the rest of you."

"So, it's a coincidence." Dustin suggested.

"Or not." Mike said. "What if when Will was stuck in the Upside Down, he somehow acquired True Sight?"

"True Sight?" Both Lucas questioned.

"What the hell is that?" Cat asked.

"It gives you the power to see into the ethereal plane." Dustin explained.

"The what?"

Lucas sighed. "Elaborate."

"Maybe these episodes that Will and Cat keep having aren't really flashbacks at all." Mike suggested. Maybe they're real." Cat shuddered, not liking the idea of what she was seeing being real. "Maybe the two of them can somehow see into the Upside Down."

"That makes sense. Will was trapped there. But why Kit?" Dustin asked. The older girl shrugged. "She's never been there."

"Actually..." The boys turned to her. "I went in there after Nancy, remember? We were in the woods, looking for Barb."

"But it still doesn't explain why you also have True Sight." Mike told her.

"So, if Will and Cat heard Dart, that would mean..." Lucas trailed off.

"Dart is from the Upside Down." Mike finished.

Lucas sighed as Dustin shook his head. "We have to take him to Hopper."

"I agree." Mike said.

"Me too." Cat added.

"No way. If we take him to Hopper, Dart's good as dead." Dustin disagreed with the others.

"Maybe he should be." Mike told him.

"How can you say that?"

"How can you not? He's from the Upside Down."

"Maybe. But even if he is, it doesn't automatically mean that's he's bad."

"I'm pretty sure it does, Dust." Cat patted his shoulder.

"Exactly. That's like saying just because someone's from the Death Star doesn't make them bad."

"Mike surprisingly has a point." Cat agreed.

"We have a bond." Dustin told them.

"A bond?" Mike yelled. "Just because he likes nougat?"

"Hey, Wheeler, that's a good type of candy. Don't diss it." Cat snapped.

"No, because he trusts me!" Dustin yelled back at Mike.

"He trusts you?" Lucas repeated, sounding unsure.

"Yes, I promised I would take care of him."

Dart started screeching from within the trap and Cat let out a small squeal, not expecting that to happen. They all took a step back as the box started to shake, Cat making sure they were all at a safe distance away from it.

"Guys, what's going on?" Max's voice called through the door. "Come on."

The box continued to shake, turning on its side. Mike picked up a lamp from the table.

"Don't hurt him." Dustin said.

"Only if he attacks."

"Just open it already."

Dustin pressed the button that opened the trap and out rolled a slimy reptile like creature.

"Ew. What the fuck is that thing?" Cat asked, leaning forward slightly.

"That, dear Catherine, is Dart." Dustin told her.

"Holy shit!" Lucas cried.

Dart crawled forward slightly, the skin breaking. Cat shrieked, jumping back as two more legs formed on the creature.

"Oh, my God!" She yelled.

"Oh, shit!" Lucas screamed.

Cat pulled Lucas and Dustin away from Dart, not sure if he was a current danger to them or not. Dart screeched again and Mike went to hit him with the lamp.

"No!" Dustin yelled, pulling away from Cat to stop Mike. Mike missed Dart, the lamp crashing into the table instead.

Dart fell off the table and ran across the floor towards the door. The boys and Cat stumbling behind him. It was then that Max finished picking the lock, the door swinging wide open.

"What the..." Max trailed off as Dart dashed out of the door and past her, running down the hallway.

"Oh, shit!" One of the boys cried as they raced to the door, pushing each other to get through.

Dustin fell on top of Max as Lucas tumbled to the floor. Cat slid on her feet, crashing into the wall opposite.

"Where'd he go?" Lucas asked as he scrambled to get off the floor.

"What was that?" Max asked as she shoved Dustin off of her, the two also scrambling to their feet.

"Dart!" Mike yelled at her.

"What?"

"You let him escape!" Mike yelled at her.

"Why did you attack him?" Dustin yelled.

"Come on." Mike said, running down the hall.

"Don't hurt him." Dustin called after him. "Don't you hurt him!"

Cat raced down the hall after Mike and Will.

***

 _"East is clear."_ Mike's voice spoke through the walkie-talkie. _"No sign of Dart."_

 _"West is clear, too."_ Dustin spoke. _"Will? Kit?"_

The two checked an empty classroom, not seeing Dart. "South is clear." Will told them.

Cat spoke into her own walkie-talkie. "What about you, Lucas? Any sign?"

A few seconds later Lucas' voice came through the walkie-talkies. _"Nothing here, man."_

Cat sighed. "We are in some deep shit." She muttered as she and Will began to walk down the rest of the hallways.

***

"What the hell are you doing?" Max yelled, turning around to see Mike waving a pole at her.

"What are you doing?" He questioned. "Why are you in here?"

"Looking for Dart."

"This is the boys' room."

"Yeah, so?"

"So you should go home." Mike threw the pole to the ground and stormed out the room, Max following behind him, skateboard in hand.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Max asked as the two walked through the door and into the gym.

"I don't hate you. How can I hate you? I don't know you."

"But you don't want me in your party."

"Correct."

"Why not?"

The two stopped walking and Mike turned around to face her, pointing his finger at the red-head.

"Because you're annoying. Also, we don't need another party member. I'm our paladin, Will's our cleric, Dustin's our bard, Lucas is our ranger, Cat's our rogue and El's our mage."

"El? Who's El?" Max asked him, no longer shouting.

"Someone. No one."

"Someone or no one?"

"She was in our party a long time ago." Mike explained. "She moved away, okay?" He started to walk across the gym to the doors.

Max placed her skateboard beneath her feet. "She was a mage?" She skated past him. "Well, what could she do? Like, magic tricks or something?" She hopped off her board, stopping it with her feet as she stood in front of Mike. "Well, I could be your zoomer."

"That's not even a real thing."

"It could be." She skated around him in a circle, holding her arms out. "See? Zoomer."

"Mind-blowing." Mike stated in a monotone voice.

"Come on, you know you're impressed." She continued to skate in a circle around him.

"I don't see any tricks. You're just going around in a circle."

"If it's so easy, you try it."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know how."

"So, then you admit it's kind of impressive."

"I think if I spent, like, all day practicing, I could do that."

"I would give you a million bucks if you could."

"Okay, you're making me dizzy. Please just stop."

"I'll stop when I join your party."

"Come on, just stop." Mike pleaded.

"It's a simple question. Am I in or out?" Max asked him, secretly hoping he'd tell her she could join him and his friends. She continued to skate around him until a sudden force knocked her from her board, causing her to land on her back.

"Jesus!" Mike said, kneeling down next to the red-head. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I think so." She sat up.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

"I don't know. It was like a magnet or something pulling on my board. I know that sounds crazy."

Mike turned to look at the double doors while Max walked over to her skateboard, disappointed when there was no sign of Eleven. If he had looked over a few seconds earlier he would have seen her standing there, tears in her eyes.

***

Will and Catherine cautiously pushed open the door to the boys bathroom, wondering if Dart and possibly hidden in there.

"So, this is what the boys' bathroom looks like." Cat shrugged, instantly silencing herself when she heard Dart chittering in one of the stalls.

Will grabbed onto her hand tightly as he approached the end stall, Cat walking with him so as to make sure the small boy was okay. The two pushed open the door, gasping when they spotted Dart.

The creature hissed at them and Cat instantly pushed Will behind her. "I think we should alert the others." Cat said to him, her eyes staying fixed on Dart.

"Guys..." Will spoke into the walkie-talkie. "We found him."

 _"Where?"_ Dustin asked.

"In the bathroom by Mr. Salerno's."

Cat spoke into her own walkie-talkie. "I think you should hurry."

 _"Copy that."_ The two heard Mike's voice, echoing from the two radios.

Will stepped forward so he was standing next Cat instead of behind her, letting go of her hand. "It's okay." He told Dart. "I'm not gonna hurt you. We're not gonna hurt you."

Cat snorted. "I highly disagree with that. If it so much as moves towards us, I will kick it into the wall."

Dart let out an ear piercing screech and the two jumped backwards, Cat slamming the stall door shut. The two ran out of the room, dropping their walkie-talkies as they did so. Will grabbed Catherine's hand tightly as the lights began to flicker. When they stopped, the halls were covered in vines and they knew that they were back in the Upside Down.

"For fuck's sake." Cat muttered, squeezing Will's hand reassuringly. "Not again."

The sound of a monster growling turned their attention to their right and the two saw some form of black smoke coming round the corner towards them.

"Run." Cat whispered, pulling Will down the hall as she began to sprint away from the creature.

The two ran down the hallways, Cat never letting go of Will's hand as they tried to out run the monster. Will glanced behind them, seeing it begin to catch up with them.

"Don't look back. Do not look back. We're gonna be okay, we're gonna be okay." Cat tried to reassure both herself and Will, not sure if it was working.

The two pushed through the entrance to the school and ran towards the school field.

***

"Where's Dart?" Mike asked as he, Lucas and Max joined Dustin in the bathroom.

"I don't know. Not here." Dustin lied, having stashed Dart under his hat seconds before the others burst through the door.

"What?" Mike began to check each of the stalls.

"They said by Salerno's, right?" Max asked.

"Yeah, maybe Will and Kit have him." Dustin suggested, knowing that wasn't true.

The three turned to Dustin.

"Where are Will and Cat?" Mike questioned, concern on his face.

***

Cat continued running across the field, stopping when she no longer felt Will's hand. She turned back around to face him. "What are you doing? We have to run."

He shook his head. "No." He turned around, his breathing heavy as he faced the creature.

The monster screeched as it loomed over the middle school. Cat screamed, begging for Will to run. But he didn't. He stayed put, trying to be brave and face his fear.

"Go away!" Will said as the creature kept moving towards them.

"Will, what the hell are you doing?" Cat yelled, walking back towards the boy and grabbing his hand.

"Go away!" Will yelled again. "Go away! Go away!"

"Will! I don't think this is working!" Cat screamed as the monster reached towards them. "We need to run. Preferably before this thing gets us!"

The black smoke reached them, completely surrounding them. Cat screamed in horror as it went inside Will. She tried to pull him away but it was like his body was stuck to the ground, he wasn't moving. Tears ran down her face as she stood in front of Will.

"No!" Cat cried. "No. Not Will, not Will. God, no." She turned to face to monster begging it to take her and leave Will.

The monster didn't want her though, it wanted Will.

Cat let out a high pitch scream as she felt her body being flung through the air, screaming in pain when her back hit against a tree. She tried to stand up and run back over to Will, but it was like there was a force holding her there, not allowing her to move. There was nothing she could do but let the tears fall down her face as she screamed out, desperately hoping someone would hear her.

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	33. THIRTY; Will The Wise

"Will! Kit!" Dustin called out as they ran down the hallways.

"Dustin?!" Joyce asked as she saw the boy turn round the corner.

"Mrs. Byers?"

"What's going on? Where's Will?"

Lucas raced through the door at the end of the hallway. "The field." He pointed behind him. "They're on the field." He turned around and raced back through the doors, Joyce, Dustin and Max following after him.

"Will." Mike stood next to him, a hand on his shoulder as Joyce ran up to her son. "I just found him like this! I think he's having another episode."

"Where's Kit?!" Dustin yelled frantically.

Lucas and Max looked around, the latter pointing the older girl's body. Dustin ran over to her, trying to calm her down as she continued to scream- her body shaking like crazy.

"Will!" Joyce grabbed her son's shoulders, trying to snap him out of his episode. "Will! Will! Sweetie, wake up! It's Mom!"

Dustin looked away from his sister, trying to think of a way to help her. It pained him to see Cat like this. She continued screaming out to the monster, wishing it was her in Will's place. He didn't deserve to go through whatever the monster was doing to him. She watched helplessly as Will began choking, the monster still surrounding him.

"Will, wake up!" Joyce demanded, her hands not leaving her boy's arms. "Can you hear me?"

Dustin tried calling out to his sister too, and like Joyce, he didn't get any response. Cat could faintly hear her younger brother calling to her but again, she couldn't do anything. The monster wouldn't let her. It wasn't letting her run over to Will and it wasn't allowing her to leave the Upside Down either. It was like it was torturing her, putting one of her boys through pain and not allowing her to rescue Will.

Her screams grew louder as she tried to fight against the monster's hold. Dustin covered his ears at his sister's deafening screams as Lucas and Max ran over to try and help him help Cat.

Mike watched helplessly as Joyce begged her son to wake up. His eyes moved to Dustin, Max, Lucas and Cat- the latter shaking uncontrollably as she didn't stop screaming.

Suddenly, Will let out a gasp and his eyes shot open. Joyce sighed in relief.

Over by the tree, Cat stopped screaming although her body still shook slightly. Her eyes were closed as she slipped into unconsciousness, content now that she knew Will was somewhat okay and no longer in the Upside Down.

***

Joyce led Will out of the school as Dustin carried a still unconscious Cat to Joyce's car, the woman helping him to place her gently across the backseat. He walked quietly back to the others as they watched Joyce drive away.

"Okay, that totally freaked me out." Max stated. "Did that not freak you guys out?"

"Two episodes in two days." Lucas stated.

"It's getting worse. Especially with Cat freaking out like that."

Dustin nodded. "I don't think I've ever seen her like that. Not even when she's had an allergic reaction or when she used to get those really severe panic attacks."

"You think it's True Sight?" Lucas asked Mike.

"What's True Sight?" Max asked him.

"It's nothing."

***

Joyce had driven herself and Will home, Cat too as she knew that taking the girl home in this state would bring up too many questions.

"I can't remember." Will told his mom.

Joyce sighed, glancing over at Cat who sat silent and unmoving on the couch. "I need you to try."

"I... I was on the field with Cat and... and then it... it all just went blank, and... and then you were there."

"Will," Joyce spoke softly and quietly. "I need you to tell me the truth."

"I am." Will stuttered.

Joyce left the table and walked over to where hers and Will's drawings lay, bringing them over to her son. She placed her drawing on the table in front of Will.

"This shape, I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night." She told him, occasionally glancing over at Catherine to make sure she was okay. Will's eyes widened slightly as he looked at his mom. "It's the same shape as... as your drawing." Joyce sighed, watching as Will looked down at the piece of paper. "These episodes that you're having... that Catherine is having, I think Dr. Owens is wrong. I think they're real. But... but I can't help you or Catherine if I don't know what's going on. And Catherine isn't responding at all, so, you have to talk to me. Please." She paused as Will looked up at her, tears lining his eyes. "No more secrets, okay?"

Will nodded.

"Did... did you see this thing again on the field?"

Will nodded. "Yes."

"What... what is it?"

"I don't know." Will stammered. "It's almost more like a feeling."

"Like the one you had that night at the arcade? Was Catherine there with you that night too?"

Will nodded. "Yes."

"What does it want?" Joyce stuttered, her eyes flitting over to Catherine who hadn't moved since she'd woken up.

"I don't know." Will told her. "It came for me, and... Cat... and she tried to stop it... but she couldn't. And I tried. I tried to make it go away." Joyce raised her hand to her mouth, trying not to cry in front of her son. "But it got me, Mom." Will cried. "And it hurt Catherine."

"Well, what does that mean?"

Will began to cry. "I felt it... everywhere. Everywhere. I- I still feel it." He began to sob and Joyce pulled him towards her, wrapping her arms around him. "I just want this to be over."

"It's okay. It's okay." Joyce comforted him. "Hey." She placed her hands on his face, looking him in the eye. "Listen. Look, look at me. I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever's going on in you, we're gonna fix it. I will fix it. I promise. I'm here." She pulled him closer to her again, wrapping her arms around him and never wanting to let go. She looked down at the drawing before looking over at Catherine. Cat's head had turned and she sat there silently watching the mother and son. She sent a small smile to Joyce, letting the woman know she was somewhat alright despite how numb she felt.

***

A few hours later there was a knock on the door. Joyce walked over to it, swinging it open to reveal Steve Harrington.

"Hey, Mrs. Byers." He greeted, smiling at the woman. "Uh, is Cat here? I went over to her house and she wasn't there. Mrs. Henderson said that you'd rang and that Cat was here..." He rambled. "Is she okay?"

Joyce smiled at him, stepping aside to let the boy in. "She's said she's fine but I'm not sure if that's really true. She hasn't spoken much."

Steve nodded and walked over to his friend, sending a smile to Will as he passed the boy. "Hey, Cat?" He knelt down in front of her and placed her hands in his. "You didn't forget about our plans, did you?"

Cat's eyes glanced over to him. She looked completely out of it. She hummed in response.

"Ice-cream and 'Footloose'?"

The brunette nodded as Steve gently helped her stand up from the couch. He led her to the door, thanking Joyce for looking after her.

"I'm sorry." Cat muttered as the pair passed through the door. She looked over her shoulder at Joyce as Steve stopped walking for a moment. "I couldn't stop it."

Joyce nodded at the small girl. "It wasn't your fault."

Steve sent Joyce a wave as he helped Cat into the passenger seat of his car. He reached over and pulled the seatbelt over her, making sure it was secure before he closed the car door and walked around his car to the drivers seat.

As he began driving, he turned to Cat. "Kit-Cat, you okay?"

"I... I don't know Steve. I don't know what's going on anymore."

"Hey. It's okay." He took one hand off the steering wheel and placed it on hers, squeezing it reassuringly. "We'll figure it out, okay?" Cat nodded. "And if you want to talk to me about it, you can over ice-cream and I'll order some pizza too, okay?"

Catherine nodded before quietly asking, "is it alright if I stay the night at yours? I just... I just don't want to be alone."

"Sure. It'll be like old times in middle school. Remember those? We used to stay over at each other's house all the time. And you'd always make me watch 'Grease'." Steve chuckled lightly, looking over at his best friend to see a hint of a smile grace her face.

"Yeah... Just like old times..."

***

**A/n:**

_This chapter was so terrible, I apologise. I just haven't been feeling it lately._

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	34. THIRTY ONE; Will The Wise

Cat's eyes slowly blinked open, her nose scrunching slightly at the smell of breakfast cooking.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Steve called to her from where he was stood in the kitchen. He glanced up from the eggs and bacon he was making to look over at where she was sprawled out on the couch, the blanket falling onto the floor as she slowly sat up.

"Wha- what time is it?" Cat yawned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

Steve looked over to the clock that hung on the wall of the kitchen. "Almost seven." He began to pile the fried eggs and bacon onto the two plates that sat on the kitchen counter. "You hungry?" He asked as he carried the plates to the table.

Cat stood up from the couch, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. She couldn't help but feel cold, much colder than usual. Although she put it down to the fact that it was now November and it usually got quite cold at this time of year.

She yawned again as she made her way over to the dining table, taking a seat opposite Steve. "You cooked eggs and bacon?" She asked him, one of her eyebrows raising.

"Uh huh." Steve replied, shovelling some of the bacon into his mouth.

"I've gotta tell ya, Stevie, shovelling food into your mouth isn't attractive. No wonder Nancy stopped loving you." She joked, taking a bite of her egg. "Okay, this is good." She pointed her fork at her plate of food. "It's surprisingly good."

"What do you mean, 'surprisingly good'?"

"Well, I just didn't think that you could cook."

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. "And why would you think that?"

Cat swallowed some of her bacon. "Because, when we were kids and we tried baking cupcakes, you messed it up. Every time. You'd either burn them or mess up the ingredients or something."

"Yeah, but we were kids." He paused to take a sip from his glass of orange juice. "Besides, you'd mess up to. You'd get the flour everywhere." He chuckled. "Your parents used to get so mad at you."

Cat let out a small chuckle. "Yeah... God, life was so much easier back then." She sighed. "I miss it, y'know? I miss being small and carefree and not having to worry about some multi-dimensional monster attacking us and the kids." Steve reached his hand across the table to hold Cat's own hand reassuringly. Cat let out a short chuckle. "Oh, who am I kidding, I'm still small."

Steve laughed. "That you are, Kit-Cat. That you are. But you know what?" Cat's gaze moved from the table and their intertwined hands to Steve's face. "Sometimes, the best things come in small packages. And you're the best thing to have ever happened to me."

A smile grew over Cat's face and she leaned over the table to give Steve a huge hug, not caring that her hair was dangling over the plates. "You're the best thing to have ever happened to me too, Stevie."

***

Cat sat in the gym, bored out of her mind as she watched the boys play basketball. The only reason she was even there was to support Steve- and maybe to talk to the cheerleaders about joining them. She was finally considering trying to becoming a cheerleader. She had tried to become one of them back when she first started high school- and she had succeeded, briefly. But when all the bullying started and her dad passed she stopped showing up to practices and games and had been forced off the team.

"Let's go. Pass it up now." The coach yelled at the boys as they all tried to get the ball. "Get open!"

One of the boys threw the ball and Billy grabbed it. Steve stood in front of him, trying to block him. Cat barely knew what was going on- she wasn't a fan of sports. When her dad was around she would watch some of the games with him, but her mind was always elsewhere.

Billy let out a laugh as he bounced the ball around. "All right!" He yelled. "All right, all right! King Steve. King Steve, everyone." He walked towards Steve, still in possession of the ball. As Billy moved closer, Steve backed up slightly, his hand out in front of him, ready to grab the ball. "I like it. Playing tough today." He looked behind the former king of the school and spotted Cat watching from the stands. "Trying to impress Henderson, huh?"

Steve shook his head and scoffed. "No." Part of him was telling the truth, the other part was lying. Truth be told, there was something different about the way he saw his best friend. The way she laughed brought butterflies to his stomach and the way she smiled at him made his heart flutter in his chest. He wasn't sure what was happening to him. _Was he getting a crush on Catherine Henderson? He couldn't be, could he?_ "Why would I be? We're best friends. I don't need to impress my best friend." _And that's all they'll ever be._

Billy let out another laugh. "Really? Well, then, maybe I should be trying to impress her. Wouldn't mind scoring a bit of that."

"Jesus!" Steve yelled, irritated by the words leaving Billy's lips. "Do you ever stop talking? Come on!"

Billy laughed, walking forward as he continued to bounce the ball against the floor of the gym. "What? You afraid that the coach is gonna bench you now that I'm here? Huh? And that I'm gonna get your little psycho friend to go out with me? Get a little taste of her?" He ran forward, slamming his body into Steve's. Steve let out a grunt as his body was sent flying to the ground.

Cat shot up from her seat, running down the stands to see if Steve was alright. Billy shot the ball into the net, scoring for his team. He walked back over to Steve, holding out a hand. Steve grabbed it, thinking the boy would help him up off the ground. Billy pulled him up slightly, leaning his head closer to Steve's.

"You were moving your feet." He told him. "Plant them next time, draw a charge." He shoved Steve back onto the ground before stepping over his body. Billy sent a wink at Cat as she ran past him to help Steve.

"God, he's such an asshole." She announced as she grabbed Steve's hands and helped him off the floor.

Steve shook his head slightly. "Tell me about it."

Cat smiled slightly. "You stink, you know that right?"

Steve let out a small chuckle and patted her shoulder slightly. "I'm gonna go shower. Meet you at my car?"

Cat nodded. "Of course. You're my ride home, Stevie. My bike's at home and I don't have a car. Of course I'll meet you at your car."

Steve couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at the nickname she gave him.

***

"Don't sweat it, Harrington." Billy said to Steve as he joined him in the showers. "Today's just not your day, man."

"Yeah. Not your week." Tommy H. added. "You and the princess break up for one day, she's already running off with the freak's brother and psycho's boyfriend." He chuckled.

Steve's face fell at the new information, and although he knew that Jonathan and Cat weren't dating, his heart still shattered slightly at the idea of what Tommy said being true.

"Oh, shit." Tommy said, a big smile on his face. "You don't know. Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven't shown." The hurt on Steve's face was obvious, although he somewhat tried to hide it. "But that must just be a coincidence, right?" Tommy laughed as he turned the shower off, walking away.

"Don't take it too hard, man." Billy told him as he leaned against the shower. "A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea." A sadistic grin crossed his face as he leaned closer to Steve. "Like that psycho, Henderson. Am I right?" He reached over and turned the water off, just as Steve finished running the shampoo through his hair. "But she's mine. So I suggest you look for some other bitch." Billy patted Steve's back before grabbing a towel and walking out of the room.

Steve dejectedly turned the water back on to finish his shower, his mind wandering to Cat and how he could keep her away from Billy Hargrove.

***

_Edited: 17/4/2020_


	35. THIRTY TWO; Will The Wise

"So this thing, this shadow thing. You told your mom it likes it like this. It likes it cold?" Hopper asked Will as he sat next to him on his bed, Will's drawing of the creature in his hands. Joyce was crouched on the floor next to Will.

Will nodded. "Yeah."

"How do you know that?" The Chief asked.

"I just know."

Hopper looked down at the drawing. "Does he talk to you?"

Will shook his head again. "No. It's like... I don't have to think." Hopper looked away from the drawing, his head turning to look at Will as he spoke. "I just know things now. Things I never did before."

Joyce watched as Hopper stood from the bed, moving to sit at Will's desk chair. "And, uh... what else do you know?"

"It's hard to explain. It's like old memories in the back of my head, only... they're not my memories."

"Okay." Hopper said simply.

"I mean," Will continued, his face full of fear. "I don't think they're old memories at all. They're... they're now-memories, happening all at once, now."

"Can you describe these now-memories?" Hopper asked him.

"I don't know. It's... it's hard to explain."

"I know it's hard," Joyce told her son, "but can you just... Can you try? For us?"

"It's like... They're growing and spreading..." Will tried to explain to the adults. Hopper turned his head to the small boy. "...killing."

"The memories?" Joyce asked.

"I don't know." Will answered truthfully. "And I think... I think whatever it is... it's going after Catherine."

"Why? What makes you think that?" Hopper asked, worry clear in his voice.

"Because... because I see her in the now-memories too." Will began to cry as Joyce pulled him towards her, wrapping her arms around his small frame. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no. It's okay, sweetie." Joyce told him, glancing fearfully at Hopper. "It's okay. We won't let it get to Catherine, okay? We won't." She glanced at the drawings that were pinned up on the walls of Will's room. "Hey, hey, sweetie... what if you didn't have to use words?"

***

 _"Hey, you've reached the Byers. We're sorry..."_ Mike hung up the phone, cutting the message off.

"Anything?" Lucas asked as Mike approached the steps where he was standing with Max and Dustin.

"We need to talk." Mike announced. "AV room. Right now." He ran up the rest of the steps, pausing as he reached the door. He looked over his shoulder to Max who was about to follow them. "Party members only."

"Come on, Mike." Dustin tried.

"No! This is non-negotiable."

"Sorry, Max." Dustin told the red-head as Mike raced through the door.

"Sorry." Lucas apologised, also feeling bad about leaving Max out.

***

"Will didn't want me to tell anyone," Mike spoke, "but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky."

"A shadow?" Lucas questioned. "What kind of shadow?" He stammered out.

"I don't know. But it scared him."

"Maybe Kit saw the same thing?" Dustin suggested.

"Maybe. And if Will really has True Sight, Cat too... I mean, if they can really see into the Upside Down, maybe they both saw that shadow again yesterday." Mike told the two.

"So that's why he was frozen like that, and why... why Kit seemed to be having a fit of some kind." Dustin thought aloud.

"Maybe." Mike agreed.

"Can it hurt them?" Lucas asked. "I mean, if this shadow thing isn't from our world..."

"I'm not sure." Mike answered honestly. "Dustin?"

"Well, if you're in another plane, you can't interact with the material plane, so theoretically, no, the shadow can't hurt Will, or Kit." Dustin explained.

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "If that's even what's happening. This isn't D&D. This is real life."

"So what do we do?" Lucas asked his two friends.

"We acquire more knowledge." Mike told him, sitting up straighter in his seat on top of the table. "I'll go to Will's after school. See what's going on. Maybe try to radio Cat and ask her to go there too. You guys stay here and find Dart."

"Dart?" Dustin questioned. "What's he gotta do with this?"

"Will heard him in the Upside Down." Mike told him. "Cat probably did too. I don't know how yet, but he's gotta be connected to all this. He's gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing. Maybe we can help Will, and help Cat."

***

"This is more of the same." Joyce told Hopper as she sat next to him in the living room, pile of papers that Will had seemingly scribbled over with crayons in her hands.

"Oh, it's nothing." Hopper told her as he looked through the pile of papers that he held. "It's just scribbles."

"Wait!" Joyce told him as she pointed at the drawings in his hands. She looked at the ones she was holding, trying to understand what it all meant.

"What?" Hopper asked her. "What?"

"Wait. These black lines, see?" Joyce held up the papers, pointing at the lines she was talking about.

"What?" Hopper asked, still confused.

Joyce placed one of the papers she was holding just above the one in Hopper's hand, lining up the black lines that had been scribbled. "Look, they connect."

Hopper was silent, finally understanding what Joyce had realised. Their eyes met as Joyce restated the realisation. "They connect."

***

"Does this mean anything to you?" Hopper asked as the two stood at the edge of the room, looking at the connected pieces of papers that they had spent ages joining together on the floor like it was a giant puzzle- and it kind of was, neither of them knew what it meant.

"No." Joyce sighed. "I mean, is it some sort of maze or a road?" They walked across the room, stepping over the pieces of paper. "I mean," Joyce stammered, "it's sort of forking and branching like... like lightning."

"You think it's that storm?" Hopper asked her.

"No, the storm he drew was completely different. He used red. And this is all blue and it has some weird dirt colour. I mean, maybe it's roots." Joyce thought out loud. " 'Cause remember, he said it was spreading and-"

"Killing." Hopper finished. Joyce looked up at him. "He said they were killing." The two looked around at the paper. "Vines." Hopper stated, walking over to the door. He pulled on his coat and placed his hat on his head. "He's drawing vines." He explained to Joyce who still looked confused. He pulled the door open, stepping outside. "He said they were going after Catherine. Make sure she's okay, keep an eye on her." Hopper told Joyce who nodded. They weren't going to loose Catherine Henderson, not if they could help it.

***

Cat leaned against Steve's car, waiting for the boy to exit the school so he could drive her home. A sigh escaped her lips and she wished she had her Walkman so that she could listen to her ABBA cassette. Her eyes scanned the parking lot, looking around for Steve.

"Cat!" A voice called out and the small teen looked over to see Mike cycling up to her.

"Oh, hey Mikey. What's up?" She smiled.

"You need to come with me to Will's house."

Cat's face immediately fell into one of worry. "Why? Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"No, everything's fine... I think."

"You think?" Cat's eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'you think'?"

"I just need you to come with me to see what's going on." Mike's eyes scanned Cat's outfit- a striped t-shirt and an old pair of ripped jeans. "How are you not cold?"

"What?" Cat asked, not paying attention. She was still trying to spot where Steve was.

Mike yanked on her sleeve, pulling her attention back to him. "Stop looking for your boyfriend for a minute. Don't you have a jacket or something? It's November and it's freezing. Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"

Cat looked at the raven-haired boy. "Wha- What? Steve... Steve's not my- we're not... we're not dating." She stammered out.

"Okay, sure. Whatever." Mike clearly didn't believe her. "We all know you're basically in love with him."

"Shut up. Someone could hear you. Besides, to answer your question, I'm fine. My jacket is in my locker. It was making me feel way too warm so I took it off."

"Whatever. We have to go." Mike grabbed Cat's arm and began dragging her along with him as he wheeled his bike away from Steve's car.

"I can't just leave, Mike. Steve's giving me a lift home."

Mike sighed. "Come on. Catherine, please."

"I never said I wouldn't go with you." She told him. "Just that Steve's meant to be driving me home today so he's expecting me to meet him at the car. I can't just not be there. I need to tell him what's going on."

"Well you can tell him. He's right there." Mike let go of Cat's arm to point to where Steve was walking out of the school building.

Cat patted Mike on the shoulder before walking towards Steve. "I'll be back in minute, yeah? And then we can go to Will's."

"I thought we were meeting at my car?" Steve asked as she walked up to him.

"I know, but there's been a slight change of plans." She pointed in the direction of Mike over her shoulder.

"Oh, okay." Steve nodded. "You being dragged onto another adventure?"

Cat shrugged. "Knowing them, yeah, probably. Wheeler Jr. wants me to go with him to see Will so I guess you don't need to give me a lift."

Steve threw his arm over her shoulder. "And you're going by bike? I don't see your bike anywhere."

Cat laughed. "Surprisingly, I actually fit on the back of the bikes the kids own."

Steve smiled down at her. "Well, you are the same size as them."

Cat playfully shoved his shoulder. "Shut up." She laughed and Steve felt his heart flutter at the sound. She looked over at Mike who was impatiently waiting for her to hurry up. "Anyway, I should probably go if I don't want Mike to murder me." She gave Steve a hug before she started walking backwards away from him and in the direction of Mike. "See you later, Stevie."

Steve smiled at her, still feeling the butterflies in his stomach from the hug she gave him. "See ya later, Kit-Cat."

Cat waved, turning around to Mike who was frowning at her.

"Taking your time much, huh?" Mike said to her sarcastically.

Cat rolled her eyes, climbing onto the back of his bike. "Just cycle to Will's before I walk there myself, Wheeler."

***

Mike banged his fist against the front door of the Byers' house. "Hello? Will!"

"If they're not in, then they're not going to answer the door." Cat said as she stood next to him.

Mike ignored her. "Mrs. Byers?" He called.

The door unlocked as Joyce opened it. "Hey, Mike." She greeted. "Hey, Catherine."

"Hi." The teen greeted as Mike got straight to the point of their visit.

"Is Will here?"

"You know what? Now is not really a good time." Joyce told him.

"Is he okay?" The two asked her, worried for the boy.

Joyce sighed before stepping out onto the porch, pulling the door to behind her. "Yeah. You know, he's... he's just not feeling real well. He's laying down, so I'll tell him you stopped by, okay?" She placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, before turning to Cat. "Oh, Catherine, Hopper's worried about you and he asked me to keep an eye on you." Joyce began to lead the teen into the house, both of them stopping at Mike's words.

"It's about the shadow monster, isn't it?"

Both Joyce and Cat turned around to face Mike, a fearful look on each of their faces.

***

"Hey, Dusty!" Claudia Henderson greeted her son as he quickly entered the house. She was pouring out a bowl of food for Mews.

"Hi, hey. Hey, Mom."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Yeah." Dustin rushed out as he walked past her and headed towards his room. He shut his bedroom door, making sure his mom didn't enter and discover Dart. "Dart, I've gotta talk to you, buddy." He threw his baseball cap and his bag onto his bed and made his way over to the cage. "It's about my friend, Will. I think..." He trailed off as he pulled the sheet off the tank and saw the broken glass everywhere. Dart had escaped. "What the hell?" The youngest Henderson wondered as he picked up the weird slimy stuff that was lying on the floor of the tank.

The sound of Dart screeching made Dustin turn around towards the corner of his room where more weird sounds were coming from. "Dart?" Dustin questioned as he took a hesitant step forward towards the chair that sat in the corner of his room.

He walked slowly across the room, spying blood on the carpet and all over the once orange chair. Dustin peered over the back of the chair to see Dart eating a cat. An orange cat. One that looked very familiar to Dustin.

"Oh, God. Catherine's gonna kill me."

Dart turned away from Mews, it's head facing Dustin before opening up and letting out a screech.

Dustin knew he was in deep shit. He'd adopted a baby Demogorgon and now his sister's favourite cat was dead. And Dart had killed her. _Oh, shit. Catherine was gonna absolutely murder him._

***

_Edited: 18/4/2020_


	36. THIRTY THREE; Dig Dug

"It's like... It's like I feel what the shadow monster's feeling." Will told Mike and Cat. Cat sat next to Will and wrapped an arm around the young boy, pulling him into a sort of side hug. "See what he's seeing." Will continued.

"Like in the Upside Down?" Mike asked as he followed the trail of paper around the room.

Will nodded slightly. "Some of him is there. But some of him is here, too."

"What do you mean?" Cat asked him.

"Here, like, in this house?" Mike asked, just as confused as Cat was.

"In this house and... in me."

Cat pulled Will closer to her, not knowing what to say. She glanced over at Mike as he took a seat on the other side of Will.

"It's like... It's like he's reaching into Hawkins more and more." Will explained. "And the more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel."

"And the more you see these now-memories." Mike added, understanding what his friend was getting at.

"At first I just felt it in the back of my head." Will explained, raising a hand to the back of his neck. "I didn't even really know it was there. It's like when you have a dream and you can't remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that." He began shaking and Cat held onto him slightly tighter, hoping to provide the boy some sort of comfort. "But now it's like... Now I remember. I remember all the time."

"Maybe... maybe that's good." Mike suggested and Cat nodded slightly, although she was unsure where Mike was going with this.

"Good?"

"Just think about it, Will. You're like a spy now. A superspy." Mike explained.

"Yeah." Cat agreed. "You can tell us what the shadow monster's doing and where he is."

"Exactly. If you know what he's seeing and feeling..." Mike added. "Maybe that's how we can stop him. Maybe all of this is happening for a reason."

"You really think so?" Will asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I really do."

"We don't know why it's happening, but I promise you, Will. We are gonna figure this shit out." Cat told him, running her fingers through his hair.

The boys looked down at Will's drawing of the shadow monster and Cat followed their gaze.

"What if he figures out we're spying on him?" Will asked. "What if he spies back?"

"He won't."

"We'll make sure of it."

"How do you know?"

Mike placed a hand on Will's shaking one. "We won't let him."

***

Will shot up in his bed, gasping. Cat shut her book, her attention turning to the boy. "You okay?" She had been unable to sleep and so had been up all night reading.

"Will, what's wrong?" Mike asked, sitting up in his sleeping bag on the floor.

Will looked at the two of them, the fear clear in his eyes.

The three of them scrambled out of Will's bedroom and into the living room where Joyce was sat on the floor in the middle of the room. Both Cat and Mike watched as Will spoke to his mom, eventually pulling her out of her thoughts.

Joyce jumped slightly as Will placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah?" She turned around to face him.

"I saw him." Will told her.

"You saw who, baby?" Joyce asked.

"Hopper. I think he's in trouble. I think he's going to die."

Cat brought her hand to her mouth and began to bite her nails. _There had to be a way they could save Hopper. There had to be. She couldn't lose the closest person she had to a father figure. She just couldn't._

***

Claudia Henderson entered her house after standing outside, calling out for Mews. "Dusty, baby, you're sure she's not in either yours of Catherine's rooms? Speaking of which, where is Catherine? I don't think she came home last night."

Dustin responded by holding a finger up to her, signalling that he was busy. "Uh-huh." He said into the receiver. "Thank you so much, Mr. McCorkle. Thank you so much. You are a true lifesaver. All right, this was great. Thank you. All right. Have a good one. Bye-bye, now. All right. You, too." He placed the phone down and turned to his mom. "All right, great news."

"They found her?" Claudia hopefully asked.

"No. But they saw her wandering around Loch Nora." Dustin told her, completely and utterly lying. "And Cat probably stayed the night at Steve's again."

Claudia started crying. "How did the poor baby get all the way out there?" She asked, her main priority being her cat as she now knew her daughter was fine and safe- which she wasn't seeing as a monster was trying to kill her in order to get to Will Byers, but the poor woman didn't know that. And neither did Dustin. Surprisingly, Cat didn't know that yet either as Joyce and Will had yet to tell her.

"I don't know. Lost, I guess. But they're gonna look for her. And I'll stay here, just in case they call again. And you're gonna go help look? Yeah? Yeah?" Mrs. Henderson wrapped her arms around her son, pulling him in for a hug. "Give me a hug. Give me a hug." The two pulled away and Mrs. Henderson headed for the door. "Go get her. You're gonna find her." Dustin reassured his mother.

"Okay."

"We can find her."

"We can find her." Claudia repeated, shutting the door behind her as the two exchanged 'I love yous'.

***

Geared up in old sports gear with a hockey stick in his hand, Dustin approached his bedroom door being careful to not step on the meat he had laid out threw his house for the creature to follow.

"All right, Dart." He called through the locked door. "Breakfast time." He reached forward and with his oven glove covered hands he pulled the door open before turning around and running down the hallway, out into the garden- a string of 'oh, my God's' and 'shit's 'leaving his mouth as he did so.

The curly haired boy ran into the old green shed at the bottom of the garden, making sure to shut the door behind him. Panting, Dustin peered through cracks in the wooden panelling, watching and waiting for Dart to follow the trail of meat into the cellar.

"Come on." Dustin whispered. "Come on, I know you're hungry." His eyes widened as he saw Dart follow the trail through the front door and down the porch steps. The more baby Demogorgon got closer and closer, the more Dustin wished his older sister was there to help him- even if he knew she'd be furious at him for accidentally allowing her precious cat to be eaten.

"Yes, yes, yes." Dustin whispered as Dart ran down the path, eating the occasional piece of meat. He continued to repeat 'yes' over and over again as Dart approached the open entrance to the cellar.

Dart growled, suddenly turning around to face the direction of Dustin's hiding spot.

"Shit!" The youngest Henderson cried, jumping back away from the wall. He began to breathe heavily, pressing his back up against the wall adjacent to the shed's door- hoping with everything he had that he had not been spotted by the faceless creature.

Dart began to stalk towards the shed as Dustin worked up the bravery to face the small creature. _It was only the size of a small dog, what harm could it do? Other than eat his family's pet cat._ With a yell, Dustin threw open the shed door, and began chasing Dart towards the cellar. Using the hockey stick, he hit Dart with it, knocking the small but deadly creature down the steps of the cellar.

As Dart began to run back up the steps, Dustin dropped his hockey stick and quickly slammed the doors to the cellar shut, stopping the cat-eating creature from escaping. He laid his body on top of the red door.

"I'm sorry. You ate my cat."

***  
 _Edited: 18/4/2020_


	37. THIRTY FOUR; Dig Dug

Cat, Mike and Joyce watched over Will's shoulder as he drew the location of Hopper, the former anxiously biting her nails. Joyce leaned down closer to her son. "Hey, is this where you saw him?" She stuttered. "Is this where you saw Hopper?"

"I think so. Yeah." Will answered.

"Okay." Joyce said softly as she picked up the drawing. Her eyes scanned over the walls, trying to work out what part of the map it fit into.

Joyce, Cat and Mike walked through the house, desperately searching for where the new drawing could fit into, until the Wheeler boy called out, "Here!"

Joyce and Catherine both ran over to where Mike stood in the kitchen, the former sticking the paper to the wall.

"Okay, so... so Hopper is here?" the older woman asked.

"Apparently." Cat nodded, crouching down next to her.

"Yeah." Mike confirmed. "Now we just need to find out where he is, right?"

Cat nodded. "Yup. And it sounds like we need to work fast because otherwise we'll be too late. So, um, no pressure?"

"Did he say anything?" Mike asked Joyce. "I mean, before he left?"

Joyce sighed. "Uh, some... something about vines? And to keep an eye on Catherine."

The girl in question raised an eyebrow, silently asking _'why me?'._ But before she could get an answer from anybody the sound of a car approaching caught their attention and the three of them raced to the window.

"Hopper." Joyce said, voicing her hope aloud.

Cat looked out of the window to see a red car and Joyce's boyfriend Bob climb out of the car. "I don't think that's Hopper."

Joyce opened the door, stepping outside before closing the door behind- not wanting to get Bob involved in their situation. Cat leaned on the door, listening to the conversation between the two adults.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mike asked her, whispering so as to not be heard by the adults.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm eavesdropping, duh." She pushed her ear closer to the door, hearing the conversation between Joyce and Bob.

"Surprise." Bob said as he walked up to the house, a pile of games in his hands. "I would've called, but you said not to clog up the line."

"You know, I... We're fine, we don't need anything." Cat heard Joyce tell him, politely trying to get him to leave so she and the kids could help save the Chief of police. Cat grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him over to the door, getting him to join in with the eavesdropping.

"When I was sick as a kid, and I was sick all the time as a kid, nothing made me feel better than focusing on these brain teaser." He held the pile of games up to show Joyce.

"Those are great. Ah..."

"I could teach him how to play."

"You know, he's sleeping." Joyce lied him as thunder began to rumble in the distance.

"Okay. I could wait with you?" Bob suggested.

Joyce let out a sigh. "Listen, it's just not a good time. But, um, you know what? I'll call you, okay?" She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Joyce nodded as Bob started to walk back to his car.

"Well, have him call me. They don't call me Bob the Brain for nothing."

Joyce let out a chuckle and began walking back towards the door. Mike, who was looking through the window, pulled Cat away from the door so they wouldn't get caught listening in on the adult's conversation. Joyce gasped, spinning back around. "Bob!" She called.

Bob paused at his car, turning to her. He held his arms out to the sides. "That's my name."

***

Joyce had brought Bob inside the house, in hopes that he could help them work out the location of Jim Hopper. The group stood in one corner of the living room, looking up at the drawings that were stuck up everywhere.

"Huh." Bob simply let out. "Hmm." He turned to Will. "You drew all these yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm." Joyce hummed out as an answer as Will nodded.

"Why, exactly?" Bob asked.

"I... I told you the rules." Joyce told her boyfriend. "No questions, okay?" They knew it would take too long to explain everything- something they didn't have the time for right now- and so the best way to get through this was with a 'no questions' rule. It was for the best.

"Yeah." Bob agreed.

"We... we just need you to help us figure out what..." Joyce walked away towards the specific part of the map where Hopper was. She turned around, realising that he wasn't following her. "Bob? Bob? Over here." She waved him over to her. Bob handed the games to Mike before following Joyce into the kitchen.

Joyce crouched down, drawing a red 'X' over the part of the map where Hopper was supposedly trapped. "Where... where this is." She explained.

"That's the objective." Mike told him as Cat nodded. "Find the X." They said in unison.

"Yeah? What's at the X? Pirate treasure?" Bob chuckled, looking at the drawing.

Cat, although finding the comment amusing, couldn't help but roll her eyes. They were on a time limit. They had to find Hopper. And they needed to find him alive.

"Bob, no questions."

"Okay." His eyes followed the trail of drawings before he turned to Joyce and led her out of the room. "Let me talk to you for a second." He turned to the younger members of the group, "Hang on, guys."

Cat sighed, taking a seat on one of the dining chairs. Tiredly, she rested her head on the table before turning to Will. "Why did Hopper ask your mom to keep an eye on me? Like, why me specifically?"

Will shrugged, unsure how to answer the teen. "Because... Because I think whatever it is, it's going after you..."

Catherine sat up in her seat and ran a hand threw her very messy hair. "Why me? Why is this thing going after me?"

Will shrugged again. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Cat."

Cat stood from her seat and walked over to the boy, pulling him into a hug. "It's okay. It's not your fault. We can defeat it. We're going to put a stop to all this."

Will nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around the teen. The two pulled away when they heard Bob's voice out in the hallway.

"Okay, I get it. That's Lake Jordan." He continued walking through the house, working out the map. Will, Mike and Catherine joined Joyce in following him, unsure of what was going through the man's mind. "And if that's Lake Jordan, then you can probably find..." He clicked his fingers together a couple of times. "Yeah, that's, uh, Sattler's quarry." He walked into the living room. "And if you just follow it naturally... it moves to... the Eno River." He came to a stop in the corner of the living room where the group where all standing earlier. "And there it is." He pointed at a specific part of the drawings. "That's the Eno, do you see it?"

Joyce tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Okay, so the lines aren't roads." Bob told her as he continued to walk around the room. "But they act like roads." He made his way back into the kitchen. "And they act like roads 'cause when you follow 'em, you'll see... they don't go over water. And that's the giveaway. That's the giveaway. Ha!" Bob told them, excited about having finally worked it out. "Don't you get it? It's not a puzzle, it's a map."

Cat's eyes widened in realisation. "It's a map of Hawkins."

Bob let out a laugh, pointing at Cat as if telling her she was correct. "Right, Will?" He asked to double check if he'd worked it out properly.

Will just sat there, not knowing what to say.

***

"Guys, this is Dustin again." Dustin spoke into the microphone attached to his headset as he shovelled dirt over his family's dead cat. "Does anyone copy? This is a code red. I repeat, a code red!"

He spoke into his headset again as he grabbed cleaning products from one of the cupboards in the kitchen. "I really need someone to pick up here." He pulled on a pair of red rubber gloves. "Hopper's MIA, and I've got a code red. Code red!"

"All right, it's Dustin again." He tried one more time as he began trying to clean the blood from his carpet. "Seriously, I have a code red."

 _"Could you please shut up?"_ The voice of Erica Sinclair came through Dustin's headset.

"Erica?" Dustin asked, pausing his cleaning. "Erica, is Lucas there? Where is he?"

 _"Don't know. Don't care."_ She told him simply.

"Is he with Mike?" Dustin stuttered.

_"Like I said, I don't know and I don't care."_

"Please tell him it's super important. Please tell him that I have a code-"

 _"Code red?"_ Erica asked.

"Yep, code red." Dustin nodded, even though Erica couldn't see him. "Exactly."

 _"Mmm-hmm. I got a code for you instead. It's called code shut-your-mouth."_ She turned off Lucas' walkie-talkie and static invaded Dustin's ears.

"Erica?" Dustin stuttered out, slightly confused.

***

Cat watched as Bob laid out a map of Hawkins out on the dining room table. "All right." He muttered as he placed a ruler over the paper so he could measure the distance between each lake. He pulled out a pen from his coat pocket and began writing things down, calling out to Mike and Joyce as he did so. The two had a tape measure and were measuring the distances between the lakes on the map that Will had drawn.

"All right. I'm 3.6 inches, what do you got?"

"I'm not sure." Mike called from where he was stood at the lake they had labelled 'Lovers Lake'. "Mrs. Byers?"

"Hold on." She called as she dragged the tape down the hall and into the living room, stopping at the point they had labelled 'Tippecanoe'. "Twenty-one feet, four inches." She called out to Bob.

"What about Tippecanoe to Danford creek?" Bob asked.

Joyce sighed as she stammered out, "Danford? Where's Danford?"

"Dining room." Will told her.

Cat, deciding to be helpful, ran across the room to where Danford Creek was labelled. She sighed. "Sixteen feet, ten inches."

"What about Danford to Jordan?" Bob asked.

"Oh, come on. This has gotta be enough." Joyce stuttered, walking over to where Bob sat at the table, Will right behind her.

"It's not. It's... it's really not." Bob told her as he made markings on the map.

"Okay. Can't you figure it out?" Joyce asked him. They were all crowded around the table, watching Bob write stuff down on the map.

"Well, it's hard." Bob stuttered. "The ratio isn't exactly one-to-one. I mean, if you're twisting my arm, and you are twisting my arm, I would say that the X is..." They all leaned in closely as he drew another line on the map. "...maybe a half mile southeast of Danford?"

Joyce let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed the map from the table. "Thank you." She raced out of the room and both kids and the small teen raced after her, leaving a very confused Bob in the kitchen.

"What? Are we... we really going?" He asked, although everyone had left the room. He hurriedly followed after them, not wanting to be left behind.

***

Dustin cycled down the driveway to the Wheeler's household, hopping off his bike and frantically ringing the doorbell until Ted Wheeler eventually opened the door.

"Your line has been busy for over two hours, Mr. Wheeler." Dustin told him, annoyed. "Do you realise this?"

"Oh, I do realise."

"Is Mike home?" Dustin inquired, hoping that his friend was.

"No." Ted Wheeler told him simply.

"No? Well, where the hell is he?"

"Karen," Mr. Wheeler called to his wife who was currently on the phone. "Where's our son?"

"Will's!" She called back to him, obviously sounding irritated.

"Will's." Ted reiterated to Dustin.

Dustin sighed. "No one's picking up there. Nancy. What about Nancy?"

"Karen," Ted called back into the house again, "where's Nancy?"

Karen Wheeler let out an irritated sigh. "Ally's!"

"Ally's." Mr. Wheeler told Dustin. "Our children don't live here anymore. You didn't know that?"

"Seriously?"

"Am I done here?" Ted asked.

"Son of a bitch. You're really no help at all, you know that?" Dustin told the man before walking away from the house.

"Hey!" Ted called after him. "Language."

Dustin walked back up the path, picking his bike off the ground when a familiar burgundy BMW pulled up in front of the house. Steve Harrington stepped out the car, a bunch of red roses in his hands as he muttered to himself. "Listen... I've been thinking... maybe we should just stay friends. I'm sorry." He scoffed to himself as we walked over the Wheeler's front lawn. "I'm sorry? What the hell am I sorry for?"

"Steve." Dustin called out to him as he walked across the lawn to the older teen. "Are those for Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler?" He asked, pointing at the flowers.

Steve glanced to the flowers in his hands before looking back at Dustin. "No."

"Good." Dustin grabbed the flowers and walked to Steve's car, opening the passenger door.

"Hey." Steve called after him. "What the hell? Hey!"

"Nancy isn't home." Dustin informed him.

"Where is she?"

"Doesn't matter. We have bigger problems than your love life. Do you still have that bat?"

"Bat? What bat?" Steve asked the curly-haired boy, obviously confused.

"The one with the nails? The one you apparently used to save my sister from a Demogorgon last year." He waved the flowers around in the air as if it were obvious.

"Why?" Steve asked, still standing on the front lawn of the Wheeler's house.

"I'll explain it on the way." Dustin told him, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Now?" Steve asked him.

"Now!"

Steve ran to his car and hopped in the drivers seat, starting the drive to the Henderson household.

"Speaking of my sister," Dustin looked to the back seat of the BMW, not seeing her there. "Where is she?"

"How should I know?" Steve responded. "I was meant to drop her off yesterday after school but she got dragged away by one of your friends."

"Lucas?" Dustin asked, unsure which one of his friends the teen was talking about.

Steve shook his head. "No?"

"So, Mike then?"

"Uh, yeah. I think."

"Okay, well it must have been Mike because was going to check on Will and he was going to get her to go with him." Dustin told him. "And also, wouldn't Kit have told you where she was going?" Steve nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "Do you just not listen to her or something?"

Steve stayed quiet, not sure how to go about answering. It wasn't that he just didn't pay attention when Catherin Henderson was speaking, it was because he was too busy admiring her. He realised that he could spend hours staring at her, listening to her talk about literally anything. She was just so... amazing. At first, back when him and Nancy were still officially a thing, he believed it was because of how close friends they had grown to be again. But now he wasn't officially going out with Nancy Wheeler, a new view had opened up to him and he realised... he had a crush on his best friend. He, Steve Harrington, had a crush on Catherine Henderson.

And now he was being dragged on some weird adventure with her younger brother.

***

"There's nothing." Mike said as he looked out the window of Joyce's car, not seeing anything except for fields and the darkness of the sky settling in.

"Exactly." Cat agreed. "There's nothing here."

"Are... Are we close?" Joyce asked Bob who was sat in the passenger seat with the map.

"We're in the vicinity."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Cat asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"It means we're close. I don't know. It's not precise." Bob replied.

"But we did all that work." Joyce said.

"I told you, the scale ratio s not exactly one-to-one. We needed to take-"

"Turn right." Will said suddenly, cutting the argument between the adults short.

"What?" Joyce asked her son, taking her eyes off the road to look at him.

"I saw him."

"You what?" Cat asked as Joyce asked him, "Where?" She looked back to the road, trying to spot Hopper through the darkness.

"Not here, In my now-memories." Will explained.

"In your what?" Bob asked, turning around to the boy. He was completely and utterly confused.

"Turn right!"

The tires screeched as Joyce turned the car sharply- crashing into a sign for the pumpkin patch. Everyone let out a yell as the car kept rolling forwards, only coming to a stop when they were right behind Hopper's van.

Cat jumped out of the car, running towards the van, only to see it parked in front of a very large hole covered in vines. "Oh my, God. What the actual fuck?"

"What's Jim doing here? Joyce?" Bob asked, still confused.

"Boys, I need you to stay here." Joyce told them as she climbed out of the car. "I'm gonna get Catherine to stay with you."

"No." Will protested. "Mom, Mom, Mom, it's not safe."

"That's why I need you to stay here! Stay here!" She rushed over to where Cat was stood, looking down at the vines in horror. "Catherine." She pulled the teen away from the van. "I need you to stay with the boys keep them safe."

"Of- of course." Cat pulled Joyce in for a quick but meaningful hug before sending both her and Bob a salute and walking back towards the boys in the car. She climbed into the passenger seat as Joyce called out for Hopper. "Well, looks like I'm in charge." She sat facing the two boys, her legs crossed as she leaned her head on the dashboard.

Her eyes fluttered shut. She was completely exhausted. If she was being honest, she hadn't slept properly the night before- not that she had in a while. Not since last year, anyway. As she began to think about it, the only time she ever got a decent nights sleep was when she was staying over at Steve's or when he stayed at hers. She hated how cliché that sounded, but it was true. Steve Harrington was the only one who could make her nightmares go away, and he didn't know it.

Will and Mike climbed out of the car and walked towards the edge of the hole. They left Cat in the car, not wanting to disturb her. They both knew she had barely slept recently. It was obvious. There were heavy bags under her eyes and the way she acted in general- easily irritated and annoyed, snapping at anyone who spoke to her at the wrong time- it was clear she was sleep deprived.

"Do you see anything?" Mike asked. "I mean, in your now-memories?"

Will shook his head, no.

Tires screeching caught their attention, and Cat's. The boys turned around to see the vans from Hawkins' Lab come driving up to them as Cat stumbled out of the car, walking towards the two.

"What the fuck is happening? I thought you two were meant to stay in the car!" She watched on confused as soldiers exited the vans and surrounded the area. People in hazmat suits going down the hole with what looked like dangerous weapons.

Her attention quickly turned back to Will as he fell to the ground in pain. She placed a hand on her head as it began to throb. She ignored it, finding Will way more important as she crouched down next to him, completely worried for the boy.

"Will?" Mike asked, also kneeling next to the boy.

"Will, are you okay?" Cat asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Cat, what's going on?" Mike asked her worriedly.

Cat shook her head silently. "I- I don't know, Mike. I don't know."

Will rolled onto his back and began screaming.

"Oh my, God!" Catherine cried as Mike took a step back.

The pain in her head was increasing as she stood up from the grass. She grabbed Mike's hand, hoping that it would provide some sort of comfort to the boy. The more Will screamed, the more the pain in her head increased- until she felt her eyes fall shut and her body go completely limp. She stumbled backwards, her hand letting go of Mike's before she crashed to the ground. Her eyes had closed and she could barely hear the people around her. But she couldn't move.

She slowly fell unconscious, her last thought being if they had successfully rescued Hopper or not. She desperately hoped that they had.

***

**A/N:**   
_And I oop-_

_I'm literally so sorry y'all. This chapter was weird, like proper weird. Oops._

_Edited: 21/4/2020_


	38. THIRTY FIVE; The Spy

Cat's eyes fluttered open and she found herself alone in a hospital room. She slowly sat up, her head still pounding. She sat there for a moment, blinking furiously to stop the world from spinning before she carefully pulled the IV out of her arm. Man did she hate needles. Just the though of them was enough to make her feel sick. She slowly hoped off the bed and made her way to the door where she stepped in the hallway.

She stood there for a moment, wondering where everyone else was. The shouting of doctors and the screams of a young boy quickly caught her attention and she instantly knew that it was Will who was screaming.

Her stomach dropped as she sprinted down the hall, tripping over her feet as she did so.

 _Will had to be okay, he had to be_. She didn't know what she'd do if he wasn't.

The closer to the room she got, the more her head began to hurt again.

She shoved the doors open, stumbling slightly as she did. It hurt her to see any of the Party in pain and her heart broke the more Will screamed. She walked over to Mike and pulled him into her arms.

"We're gonna help him, Mikey. It's going to be okay."

But neither of them knew that they were the furthest from okay that they'll ever be.

***

Steve drove down the road, music blasting from his radio. He turned it down slightly so he could be heard over the song that had started playing. The car ride had been quiet so far but Steve had a few questions for the curly-haired boy in his passenger seat about what he had just explained. "Wait a sec. How big?"

Dustin held up his hand, indicating the size Dart was when he found him, using his forefinger and thumb, showing that the creature was quite small. "First it was like that." Then he held up both of his hands, holding them up a lot farther from each other. "Now he's like this."

"I swear to God, man, it's just some little lizard, okay?" Steve sighed, not believing what he was being dragged into.

"It's not a lizard."

"How do you know?"

"How do I know if it's not?"

"How do you know it's not just a lizard?"

"Because his face opened up and he ate my cat."

Steve wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah, 'oh shit'. And now Kit's gonna kill me."

"Wait, she doesn't know?"

"No. She doesn't know that her favourite and only cat is dead, okay."

Steve shook his head slightly. "You are so dead, man."

"You don't think I know that?"

Steve's car pulled up in the driveway of the Henderson household and the two got out of the car, walking round to the trunk.

"You sure that Cat isn't home?" Steve asked as he pulled the famous bat from the trunk of his car.

"If she was, she'd be out here with us." Dustin scoffed. "Kit never passes up an opportunity to hang out with you."

Steve nodded, knowing that was true.

The two walked over to the cellar that Dustin had chained shut. Steve held his torch over the doors, trying to hear something. Anything.

"I don't hear shit." He announced.

"He's in there." Dustin reassured.

Hesitantly, Steve banged his bat on the red doors. He waited a moment for a response before repeating the action, only hitting the doors harder this time. After about a minute he turned to Dustin, shining the torch in his face and slightly blinding the boy. "All right, listen, kid. I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank, you're dead."

"It's not." Dustin reassured him.

"All right?"

"It's not a prank." Dustin told him. "Get out of my face."

"You got a key for this thing?" Steve asked, his head tilting towards the cellar.

***

Once Dustin had found and given the key to Steve, he unlocked the padlock that was holding the doors closed and yanked them open. Dustin shone the light down the steps. "Let me see that." Steve said as he took the torch.

Neither of them saw anything.

"He must be further down there." Dustin suggested. "I'll stay up here in case he tries to escape."

Steve sighed, standing up from where he was crouching at the entrance to their possible doom. He carefully walked down the steps, the famous, spiked bat in his hand. He reached the bottom of the stairs, shining the torch around. The light from the torch fell on a cord hanging in the middle of the room. The older teen tugged on it, allowing light to completely flood the room.

A weird slimy substance caught his eye and he moved to pick it up with the end of his bat. He lifted it up, a green gooey liquid dripping from it. Something else caught his attention from the corner of his eye and his attention turned to the massive hole in the brick wall. A massive hole that seemed to be a tunnel. Dustin's creature must have escaped.

 _Shit_.

Not hearing anything for a few moments, and not knowing how he would explain to his sister that her best friend (and crush) was killed on the same day as her cat by the same monster, Dustin called out to him. "Steve?"

No response.

"Steve, what's going on down there?"

Steve suddenly appeared back in Dustin's line of vision. He shone the torch in the younger boy's face, making Dustin jump in fear. He called up to him. "Get down here."

Dustin walked down the steps and Steve lifted his bat higher, showing him the slimy substance that dripped from the end of it. "Oh, shit."

Without saying anything, Steve pointed the torch at the wall, the light illuminating the giant hole in the brick.

"Oh, shit!" Dustin exclaimed, not knowing how else to respond.

The two approached the hole carefully, Steve holding his bat out in front of him in case of a sudden attack.

"No way." Dustin breathed out as Steve shone the torch at the hole that seemed to go on for miles. "No way."

***

"That thing, it... it did something to him." Joyce explained to Doctor Owens in a conference room full of doctors. Cat was sat beside her, her hands by her mouth as she anxiously bit her nails. She was convinced that by the time all of this finally ended, she wouldn't have any nails left.

"Okay. And these now-memories, as you call them, how long has he been experiencing them?" Owens asked.

"I told you, since Thursday. Since I found him and Catherine in the field."

"And why wasn't he brought in?" One of the doctors asked.

"Why wasn't he- She's been bringing him in you dingus. You guys have done jack-shit. Absolutely nothing." Catherine snapped at him, slamming her fist down on the table. It was clear she needed sleep, she was losing her temper more often and it didn't take much to set her off.

"These are new symptoms." Owens explained and Cat simply rolled her eyes out of annoyance.

"No." Joyce protested, pointing her finger at the doctor. "No, he has been telling you over and over that's something's wrong, and you said it was all in his head."

"I have some news for you, Doc." Cat told him, and you could practically see the venom that she was spitting at him. "That was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. You know why? Because I've seen it too." Owens and all the other doctors stared at her in shock. "The same exact things that Will has seen, I've seen. But let me guess, it's all in my head?" She spat, shoving her chair to the floor as she stormed from the room. "Just some stupid anniversary effect." She mumbled, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets as she stormed down the endless hallways of the ex-lab.

"You said to us," Joyce continued ranting at Doctor Owens, "'Be patient.' Those were your words."

"I understand that you're upset, okay? That Catherine is too. I get it." Owens told her. "I would be, too, if I were in your shoes. But we are all in the same boat here, and I just need you to try-"

Joyce cut him off, her voice raising considerably. "What? Stay calm? Trust you? No, I want him transferred to a real hospital."

"Well, you know that's not possible." Owens told her.

"He really will get the best treatment here, Mrs. Byers." One of the doctors said.

"The very best." Another doctor agreed.

Joyce scoffed in disbelief. "And what are you treating him for, exactly?" She stammered, standing up from her chair. "Can anyone tell me what's wrong with him? What might be wrong with Catherine? Can a single person in this room tell me what is wrong with my boy?" None of the doctors answered her. "What is wrong with my boy?!"

***

 _"Dustin!"_ Lucas' voice came through the radio as both the curly-haired boy and Steve took the buckets of meat and the can of gasoline out of the back of the teen's car. _"This is Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin?"_

"Well, well, well, look who it is." Dustin spoke into is headset, pausing his task as he spoke to Lucas- leaving the older teen to continue sorting out the monster hunting supplies.

 _"Sorry, man."_ Lucas apologised. _"My stupid sister turned it off."_

"Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon." Dustin informed his friend.

_"Wait. What?"_

"I'll explain later. Just meet me and Steve at the old junkyard."

 _"Steve?"_ Lucas was confused. _What was Steve Harrington doing hanging out with Dustin?_

"And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket." Dustin informed him as Steve slung his backpack over his shoulder.

 _"Steve Harrington?"_ Lucas asked again as the said boy closed the trunk of his car. _"The Steve Harrington?"_

"All right, let's go." Steve said to Dustin.

"Just be here, stat." Dustin told Lucas through his headset. "Over and out."

***

_Edited: 27/4/2020_


	39. THIRTY SIX; The Spy

Cat was asleep in a hospital chair next to Will, a blanket draped over her. Although she was sleeping and looked peaceful, she was far from it. In her mind she was in hell. Trapped in the Upside Down, with no way out.

_The Demogorgon was chasing her through the woods of Hawkins, except that they weren't the woods of Hawkins. Not really._

_She ran as fast as her legs would allow. A scream escaped her lips as another monster appeared in front of her. She span around in a circle quickly, seeing that she was completely surrounded. She cursed. There was no way out of this. She let out another scream as at once all the Demogorgons pounced on her. She collapsed to the floor, curling up into a ball as one after another, claws scratched at her, ripping her skin._

With a jolt and a gasp she shot up in her seat, her hands throwing the blanket off her body. A muffled voice sounding from Mike's bag caught her attention and she reached into it, pulling out his walkie-talkie. She stood up from her chair and headed for the door, letting Joyce and Bob know that she was just going for some air. Joyce told her to stay close and not to wander off, seeing how the shadow monster was still hunting her and they all wanted her to be safe.

"Hello?" She spoke into the device as she walked down the halls of the lab.

 _"Kit? Is that you?"_ Her brother's voice came through the radio.

Cat scoffed, but smiled nonetheless. She was glad to hear her brother's voice. "Of course it's me, dipshit. Who else would I be?"

_"Will, or Mike."_

"They're asleep, so... It's been a long couple of days. What do you want?"

_"Meet me and Steve in the old junkyard."_

"Why the fuck are you with Steve? He's my best friend and monster fighting buddy. Not yours."

_"Lucas is meeting us too. Just be there."_

Cat sighed as she walked down the hallways. "I can't promise I'll be there. There's kind of a situation happening here... well several and I'm not sure Hopper will let me out of his sight. He thinks I'm in danger."

_"Hopper's with you?"_

Cat nodded, forgetting for a moment that her brother couldn't actually see her. A commotion down one of the hallways behind her alerted and she spun around, hearing Bob call out for a doctor. "I have to go." She told Dustin.

 _"Are you coming to the junkyard or not?"_ Dustin asked but he didn't get an answer as she raced down the hallway, the walkie-talkie slipping from her hands as she hurried to get back to Will's hospital room. She arrived just as Owens was asking Will some questions about his memory. She slid to a stop next to Hopper, the chief pulling her close to him to make sure she was alright.

"Do you know your name?" The doctor asked.

"Will."

"Your full name?"

"William Byers."

"Do you know... Do you know who I am?"

"A doctor."

"Have we met before?" Owens asked him.

"I don't remember." Will told him.

Cat could feel her heart start to break. There was something wrong with one of her favourite kids and there wasn't anything she could do to help.

"Hmm." Owens hummed. "You don't remember me? How about, uh..." He pointed to Mike. "How about this guy here?" Mike raised his hand and waved slightly at his best friend, scared that he wasn't going to remember him. "Know who that is?" Will stayed silent and Cat's heart broke even more. "It's all right. Take your time." Owens reassured him.

"That's my friend." Will answered eventually. "Mike." Cat smiled slightly, glad that he remembered his best friend.

"What about me, kid?" Hopper asked the small boy. "You remember me?" Will turned to him and shook his head, no. "They tell me you helped save me last night. You remember that?" Will shook his head again.

"What about this young lady, here?" Owens asked, pointing at Catherine. "Do you remember her?"

Will answered straight away, which was unusual considering he took a small while to remember Mike. "That's Catherine. The one he wants out of his way." At that, Hopper pulled the teen closer to him as if doing that would somehow stop the monster from going after her.

"Do you remember anything about last night?" Owens asked him. "About what happened?"

"I remember they hurt me." Will told the doctor.

"You mean the doctors?"

"No. The soldiers."

"The soldiers hurt you?"

"They shouldn't have done that." Will said. "It upset him."

Owens pulled out a polaroid of the drawing Will had done of the shadow monster. "You say, 'Upset him.' Is that him?"

Cat gulped and buried her head into Hopper's side, wishing she was as far away as possible from that monster- even if it was just a drawing of it.

Will nodded.

"Okay." Owens took the photo from Will. "Okay, I wanna try something. It's gonna seem a little odd at first," Cat rolled her eyes. _At this point she just wanted something normal. Like lying on her couch with Steve and watching 'Grease' for the billionth time. Where was the normal anymore?_ "But I think it's really gonna help us understand what's going on." The doctor turned to Will. "Is that okay?"

Will nodded. "Okay."

They watched as another doctor wheeled in a box and at a closer look, Cat saw that part of one of the tunnel's vines were inside it.

"Now," Owens spoke, "Will, I want you to just let us know if you feel anything. Okay?"

The other doctor pulled out a blow torch and turned it on. He held it above the vine, which started writhing around in its box.

"Do you feel anything?" Owens asked the young Byers boy.

"Little sting." Will stuttered out.

"It stings?" Owen asked. "Where?"

The creature let out a screech and Cat flinched at the noise. The doctor moved the flame closer to the creature and everyone watched anxiously as Will clutched at his chest.

"My chest." Will told Owens.

The closer the doctor moved the flame to the creature, the more pain Will felt, and the more Catherine's head started pounding.

"How about now?" Owens asked as the torch moved closer to the vine.

"It... it burns." Will answered.

Catherine stayed silent, trying to not draw any attention to herself as she clutched her pounding head, the pain increasing by the second. The creature in the box started screeching even more and Will let out a scream, repeating that it was burning.

"Where?" Owens asked him.

"Everywhere." Will groaned. The beep from the monitor that was attached to him increased.

Cat closed her eyes, holding back a scream from the intense pain in her head.

"That's enough." Joyce yelled, just as Catherine collapsed, a scream leaving her lips. Hopper managed to catch her before she went completely limp on the floor. Joyce yelled at the doctor again, more scared than she was before after seeing Catherine collapse. "That's enough!" she screamed.

"Stop! You heard her!" Hopper yelled, picking up the teen he saw as a daughter and lifting her from the hospital floor. "That's enough!"

The doctor finally pulled the blow torch away from the creature, turning it off. The monitor continued to beep rapidly as Will slowly calmed down.

"Sweetie... Sweetie." Joyce comforted. "It's okay."

Hopper walked around Will's hospital bed and gently placed Catherine in one of the chairs, running a hand through her hair.

***

"Our best guess right now is it's some kind of virus which is causing this neurological disorder." Owens told both Hopper and Joyce in the hallway, outside Will's room. "Now, when... when a typical virus attaches itself to its host... it duplicates, right? It spreads, essentially hijacking the host." He explained. "A virus is alive. It has an intelligence. That's not... That's not unusual. What is so unusual here," he gestured down the hallway, "this virus... the infected hosts seem to be communicating. It has some sort of a hive intelligence, and it's connecting all the hosts. The good news is a virus can be cured. We... we're gonna continue to run tests. We're gonna see what we find."

"What happens when he can't remember anything? When there's nothing else there?" Joyce asked, stuttering. "And, can you find out what's wrong with Catherine? What happens when my boy is gone?"

***

_Edited: 27/4/2020_


	40. THIRTY SEVEN; The Spy

Dustin and Steve walked down the abandoned railway track, throwing pieces of meat every couple of steps in hopes that it would eventually lure Dustin's pet Demogorgon to them.

"All right," Steve spoke, breaking the silence between them, "so let me get this straight. You kept something you knew was probably dangerous- and could kill your sister, might I add- in order to impress a girl who... who you just met?"

"All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things." Dustin told him from where he was walking a few paces ahead. "And it didn't kill Catherine, okay? She's still alive."

"Well, it killed her cat, which is basically like killing her. You know how much she loved that orange furball."

"She'd kill you for calling Mews that, you know."

Steve nodded, not that Dustin saw him do it anyway. "Yeah, well she's not here to kill me. Anyway, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway? Cat wouldn't." He paused for a moment. "Wait, did she know about this anyway?"

"Yes, yes she did." The young Henderson answered. "And yes, she was grossed out. But she gets grossed out by most things." He steered the topic of conversation away from his sister and back to what they were originally talking about. "And why wouldn't anyone like an interdimensional slug? Because it's awesome."

"Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I... I just... I don't know. I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

"Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, all right?"

"It's not about the hair, man." Steve told him. "The key with girls is just... just acting like you don't care."

"Even if you do?"

"Yeah, exactly. It drives them nuts."

"So, is that how you're gonna get with my sister?" Dustin asked, taking Steve by surprise. "By acting like you don't care?"

"What... what?" The older teen stuttered.

"Well, she likes you and... it seems like you like her too. You've been hanging out with her like all the time."

"Because we're friends, that's what friends do." Steve stopped suddenly as Dustin's words hit him. "Wait, she likes me?"

It was then Dustin realised that he'd let slip his sister's top secret, secret. "You can't tell her that I told you that. She'll kill me."

The two began walking again and Steve nodded his head. "Sure... yeah, no. Won't tell her." _Did Catherine Henderson really have a crush on him?_

"So, you show them that you don't care. Then what?" Dustin asked.

"You just wait until, uh... until you feel it."

"Feel what?"

"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh... electricity, you know?" He could hear Cat's voice in his head telling him to shut up and telling him to stop giving out dumb advice to her brother.

"Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere-" Dustin started, not getting at what Steve was trying to explain.

"No, no, no, no, no." Steve said, quickly cutting Dustin off. "Like a... Like a sexual electricity."

"Oh."

"You feel that and then you make your move."

"So that's when you kiss her?"

"No, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Romeo."

"Sorry." Dustin apologised.

"Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a... I don't know, like a lion."

"Mmm." Dustin hummed.

"But others, you gotta be slow, you gotta be stealthy, like a... like a ninja."

"What type is Nancy?"

"Nancy's different. She's different than the other girls."

"Yeah, she seems pretty special, I guess. So, what type is Kit?"

"What? Cat? She's... I don't know. She's special too, but in a way that Nancy isn't. I just wish that I'd seen that sooner, you know? I wish it hadn't taken us all nearly dying last year for me to realise what I was missing by not being around her."

Dustin nodded in understanding. "But this girl's special, too, you know. It's just, like, something about her."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey." Steve said, stopping and placing an arm out in front of Dustin.

"What?"

"You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?"

Dustin hesitated a moment before answering. "Uh, no. No."

"Okay, good." Steve began to follow the railway track again. "Don't."

"I won't."

"She's only gonna break your heart, and you're way too young for that shit." The two started throwing more chunks of meat onto the ground again, continuing the trail. There was a few moments of silence before Steve spoke up again after seeing Dustin's disheartened face. "Faberge."

"What?"

Steve pointed a gloved finger to his hair. "It's Faberge Organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp... It's not wet, okay? When it's damp..."

"Damp." Dustin muttered, making sure he remembered what Steve was telling him.

"You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray." Steve could practically hear Cat laughing at him.

"Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin laughed.

"Yeah, Farrah Fawcett." The two stopped walking and Steve turned to Dustin. "You tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You're dead, Henderson. Do you understand?"

"Yup." Dustin nodded. "What about Kit? Can I tell her? I bet she'd love to know that's what you use."

"Not even Cat. I'll tell her in my own time." He turned away and began walking again. "Don't want her laughing at me just yet." He muttered.

***

"What the hell is taking so long?" Joyce whispered to Bob, her eyes looking between Will and Catherine, the latter of whom still being unconscious in the chair.

"Hey... doctors take forever, always." Bob told her, attempting to reassure the stressed out mother. "Just try and relax. Just be patient."

Joyce exhaled deeply, unsure what to do. There was a few minutes of silence before she eventually spoke again, shrugging the blanket off her shoulders. "You know, I just..." She stammered, standing up and walking out the room. She marched down the hall towards the room that two guards were guarding, stopping her from getting through. Bob was quick to follow her, not wanting Joyce to do anything rash.

"Let me through." She stammered. "Let me through!" She tried to push past the guards.

"You know we can't do that." One of them told her, pushing her back.

"I need to talk to-" Joyce tried to protest.

"He'll be with you shortly."

"You said that an hour ago."

They continued to argue at the end of the corridor, while back in Will's hospital room Cat started to come to, her eyes slowly opening. She tentatively reached her hands up to her head, still feeling a dull throb.

"What's going on?" She asked no one in particular, her voice quiet and a little scratchy. Neither Mike nor Will answered her as she slowly sat herself up in the chair. She looked over at Mike, who was trying to get Will's attention. He was staring intently at Joyce and Bob down the corridor.

"Will? Will?" Mike placed a hand gently on the young boy's shoulder, causing him to jump out of whatever trance he was in. "What's wrong? Are you hurting again? Look, Cat's awake again."

"What did I miss?" The older teen mumbled, wiping a hand over her face, feeling blood drip from her nose. Her eyebrow raised and she began digging in her pockets for a tissue. "A nose bleed, really? Now?" She mumbled.

The two boys ignored her, other than Mike's brief glance in her direction to make sure she was okay.

"Uh..." Will stammered. "I saw something." This grabbed Cat's attention and she quickly drew her attention away from her nose bleed so she could focus on what Will was telling them.

"In your now-memories?" Mike asked him.

Will nodded and leaned in closer to Mike and Cat. "The shadow monster." He whispered. "I think I know how to stop him."

"Finally," Cat sighed, leaning her head back against the chair. "Something useful."

***

Steve let out a sigh as he and Dustin reached the edge of the junkyard. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, this will do." He nodded, taking off his sunglasses with a gloved hand and walking further into the junkyard. "This will do just fine." He called over his shoulder to Dustin, "Good call, dude", and a grin spread over the younger boy's face.

The two walked further through the junkyard towards an old, broken down school bus, trailing more of the meat behind them as they did so. Steve couldn't help but let his mind wander, mainly just thoughts of Catherine Henderson. He couldn't help but wonder if she was safe, if she knew the possible dangers that were going to take place. He wondered where she could be and who she was with. He hoped she was someplace safe, someplace far away from the weird cat eating lizard things that he and Dustin were setting up a trail for.

The older teen was pulled out of his thoughts as he and Dustin emptied a pile of chopped up meat onto the grass. The two boys lifted their heads as Lucas' voice rang out across the junkyard. "I said medium-well!" Lucas waved at the pair as he and Max started walking down the small hill towards them, wheeling his bike alongside them.

"Who's that?" Steve asked Dustin, watching as the curly-haired boy stared at the redhead. Steve studied Dustin's face, realisation dawning on him as to who the redhead was. _She was the girl Dustin was telling him about earlier._

***

"You told her?" Dustin exclaimed to Lucas, the two crouched down behind a battered up car while Max and Steve collected scrap metal to fix the old bus up as a fortress.

"So what?" Lucas asked, not seeing why it was a big deal.

"'So what?'" Dustin repeated.

"You wanted to tell her, too." Lucas pointed out.

"But I didn't, all right? We all agreed not to tell her and to look for Dart."

"Who you conveniently found."

"Are you suggesting that I'm lying?"

"I'm saying you have a creepy little bond with him."

"Yeah, that was before he turned into a Demogorgon." Dustin told him.

"And you haven't heard from Mike? Or from Cat?"

"No, well, not from Mike. Kit answered the radio. But she didn't talk for long. I'm not sure what's going on where they are. Wherever that is."

"What about Will?"

"No."

"Hopper?"

Dustin shook his head. "No. Kit said she was with him. I can't remember what she said, she seemed to be in a rush. But other than that, no one is around. Why do you think I'm with Steve Harrington?" He paused for a moment. "Something's-"

"Wrong." Lucas finished. "I agree. Which is why we need as much help as we can get."

The two boys looked through to broken window of the car, watching Max as she leant the scrap metal against the side of the bus.

"She didn't believe me anyway." Lucas told him.

"You probably didn't tell it right."

Lucas smiled, glad that the two were no longer in any kind of disagreement. "That must be it." The two turned their gazes away from the redhead and Lucas held out his hand to Dustin. "So, we good?"

Before Dustin could answer, Steve crashed a broken chair onto the hood of the car, startling the two of them. "Hey! Dickheads! How come the only one helping me out is this random girl?" He asked, tilting his head in the direction of Max. "We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go. Let's go, I said!"

Dustin sighed as he walked past the older teen. "I wish Kit was here."

"Me too, kid, me too. But she's not. And I have no way of getting ahold of her so you're stuck with me." A sarcastic grin plastered itself on Steve's face as he turned around and headed back towards the bus, the worry of his friend's safety and whereabouts still in the forefront of his mind.

***

Catherine stood next to Joyce and in front of Hopper, who had his hands on her shoulders- ready to catch her if she passed out again- in the conference room as they all waited for Will to tell them his plan and where abouts they needed to go in the tunnels to act it out.

"Sam, this is ludicrous." One of the doctors stated, clearly fed up by what was happening.

"Just give him a moment, okay?"

"We don't have time-" the other doctor started but was cut off by Hopper.

"Hey, jackass, why don't you do us all a favour and shut up, okay?"

Will stood up from his chair at the table and walked to the end of the long table where he pointed to a particular part of the map he had drawn- although it was in polaroid form. "That's it." He told them.

"That's what? What... what's there, Will?"

The adults crowded round the top end of the table so they could see what Will was pointing at.

"I don't know." Will answered. "I just know he doesn't want me to see there. I think it's important."

The adults all shared a look of concern and Cat shakily took a seat in one of the chairs. Whatever was happening was scaring her and she hoped that her brother, Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and even Max, were all okay. She hoped that whatever happened, they would all get out of it and that it would end. She desperately wanted it all to end, for everything to be normal again.

***

Back at the junkyard, the boys and Max were collecting any scrap piece of metal they could find and securing it to the bus in order to make it monster proof. Or at least as monster proof as they possibly could.

Once the bus was as secure as they could make it, Steve poured a trail of gasoline from the pile of meat to the doors of the bus.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they had finished and piled onto the old bus, closing the old, rusted doors behind them.

***

Once the night had settled in, Lucas climbed up the ladder they had placed in the middle of the bus, to the roof where he used his binoculars to keep watch for Dart and any of his friends that might also find them.

Inside the bus, Dustin was pacing and Steve sat playing with lighter, not completely realising what he was doing as his mind was still stuck on Catherine and he couldn't help but worry about her safety.

"So you really fought one of these things before?" Max asked.

Steve nodded.

"And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?"

"Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay?" Dustin snapped. "It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."

Max raised her eyebrows at the curly haired boy before standing up and walking to the ladder. "Geesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" She muttered before climbing up to join Lucas on the roof.

"That's good." Steve told Dustin, who continued to pace. "Just show her you don't care."

"I don't."

Steve winked at him.

"Why are you winking, Steve? Stop."

***

A load growling grabbed the attention of the kids in the bus, interrupting the conversation that Lucas and Max were having. Steve and Dustin immediately moved to the window, peering through the defences they had lined it with to see if they could spot Dart in the fog.

"You see him?"

"No."

"Lucas, what's going on?" Dustin yelled up to the roof.

"Hold on!" Lucas yelled back as he knelt on top of the roof, looking through the binoculars as he scanned the junkyard. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Ten o'clock!"

"There." Steve whispered, pointing out the figure of the creature to Dustin.

"What's he doing?" Dustin whispered. Neither of the two moving from their crouched positions by the window.

"I don't know."

"Wait." Max said, up on the roof, as she pulled the binoculars away from her face. "You sure that's not a dog?"

"What?" Lucas asked.

"He's not taking the bait." Steve whispered. "Why is he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry?" Dustin suggested.

"Maybe he's sick of cow." Steve stood up and backed away from the window before grabbing his baseball bat and heading to the rickety bus door.

"Steve? Steve, what are you doing?" Dustin asked the older teen worriedly. "Steve?"

The Harrington teen turned around to face Dustin, chucking his lighter to him. "Just get ready." He pushed open the door and cautiously stepped out, not wanting to be eaten by the Demogorgon. "Come on, buddy." Steve called as he walked further into the fogged junkyard, the baseball bat ready to strike. He began whistling as he swung his bat around.

Inside the bus, Max climbed down the ladder to join Dustin by the window, their previous small disagreement forgotten- for now at least. "What's he doing?"

"Expanding the menu."

"Come on, buddy." Steve called out again, now near the pile of meat they had set up. "Come on, buddy. Come on. Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise."

"He's insane." Max said, her face pressed against the window.

"He's awesome." Dustin grinned.

Steve continued to swing his bat around as the Demogorgon slowly approached him.

Up on top of the bus, Lucas spied another creature. One Steve had yet to realise was there. "Steve, watch out!"

"A little busy here!" Steve called back, his attention focused on the Demogorgon that stood before him and the fact that he couldn't allow himself to get hurt.

"Three o'clock!" Lucas called out, his voice breaking slightly. "Three o'clock!"

Steve looked to his right to see that there were more starting to surround him.

"Steve!" Dustin yelled, running to the door and pulling it open. "Steve! Abort! Abort!"

The kids started yelling at him to hurry back to the bus as he fought off the Demogorgons that ran at him. Steve raced to the bus and dived through the door. Just as Steve was about to be attacked by one of the dangerous creatures, some mysterious force stopped it and the Demogorgon was flung to the side.

***

Back in the lab- now hospital- Catherine awoke with a start, having fallen asleep in one of the chairs next to Will's bed. She raised her hand to her nose, wiping it with her sleeve. She looked down and saw that her sleeve was now red instead of its original colour. Her nose was bleeding, again.

She was confused and unsure. Her dream had felt all to real. Dustin, Lucas, Max and Steve were in the old junkyard surrounded by those horrible creatures and Steve had been trying to protect them all. _Surely it was just a dream though. It had to be her subconscious playing a trick on her._ After all, she had spoken to Dustin earlier and he'd asked her to meet them at the junkyard. _It was just a dream_ , she told herself, _it was all in her head._

***

_Edited: 27/4/2020_


	41. THIRTY EIGHT; The Mind Flayer

Alarms started blaring as Cat raced down the hall to Bob and Mike, skidding to a halt in order to not crash into them. She was still a bit dazed from her not-really-a-dream dream.

"What the hell is going on?" She yelled over the loud buzzing of the alarm.

"We're too late." Mike told them.

"What?"

"Too late for what, Mike? What the actual hell is happening?"

"We're too late!" Mike screamed, running back down the hall to Will's room, both Bob and Catherine running after him.

"What's going on?" Joyce asked them.

"No idea." Cat answered, shaking slightly from fear as she wiped a hand under her nose. _Another nose bleed? What the hell?_

"We're under attack." Mike told them simply.

"We're what?" Cat yelled, shakily pulling her hair into a simple ponytail.

***

Mike grabbed a needle from the counter.

"What's that for?" Cat asked him, her eyebrows raised. She definitely did not like needles.

"We need to make Will sleep."

"What?" Joyce asked.

"He's a spy." Mike told them. "If he knows where we are-"

"-so does the shadow monster..." Cat trailed off, understanding Mike's train of thought.

"They're lying!" Will screamed at them.

"He killed those soldiers. He'll kill us, too!"

"They're lying!" Will screamed again, repeating the phrase over and over as the two adults tried to calm him down, but to no avail.

In the distance, barely heard over the loud, blaring alarm, the group heard gunshots.

"Holy shit." Cat mumbled.

"Those are gunshots!" Bob stated in shock.

If Catherine wasn't scared before, she definitely was now.

Will continued to scream but Joyce managed to get him to stop, at least for a moment.

"Okay, Will, Will, listen, listen. Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?"

It took Will a few moments before he actually answered. And it almost made Cat start crying as her heart broke at the scene before her. "You're... You're... You're Mom."

Joyce turned to Bob. "Hold him down." She then took one of the needles, filling it up with the liquid as Will began to scream in protest. She apologised over and over as she injected the needle into her son's arm.

As soon as Will fell unconscious, the door burst open to reveal Hopper and Doctor Owens. Cat sighed in relief and immediately wrapped her arms around the Chief of Police, muttering something about thinking he was a Demogorgon. The moment was broken, however, when growling was heard from the other end of the hall and the creatures began to break down the only door that was keeping them safe.

Hopper gently pulled Cat away from him. "We gotta go." He muttered, repeating the phrase slightly louder as he picked up Will and the group followed him as they ran down hallways, trying to find a way out- or at the very least a safe place to hide.

They ran into a room, just off one of the hallways, and Owens locked the door behind them-not only locking them in, but also locking those creatures out.

Cat ran a shaky hand through her hair, terrified out of her mind and wanting nothing more than to cuddle up with her friends and family and watch a movie with them- probably _'Grease'_.

"Oh, my God." Bob muttered and both Mike and Cat turned their heads so they could see what he was looking at. The wall was filled with different screens, all linked to different security cameras around the building. Cat nearly vomited at the sight. So many people were dead or were dying after being attacked by the vicious monsters that were roaming around. The group stared at the screens for a few moments until they turned their attention to the lights which had started flickering.

"That is never a good sign." Cat mumbled, feeling the hair on her neck start to raise and her nose start to trickle with blood.

Suddenly all the electrics shut off and Cat stumbled backwards into the wall. Flashes of the year before when she was in the Upside Down being chased by the Demogorgon and the events that took place in the Byers' house surfaced in her minds eye and she couldn't help but start to hyperventilate- now completely and utterly terrified.

***

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin as the group walked through the woods, following the old railway tracks.

"Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt."

"He was tiny two days ago." Max pointed out, confused.

"Well, he's molted three times already."

"Malted?" Steve questioned.

"Molted." Dustin corrected him before explaining. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."

"When's he gonna molt again?" Max asked.

"It's gotta be soon." Dustin told her. "When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends."

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." Steve commented. "Which Catherine's gonna kill you for." He mumbled.

The group stopped in their tracks as Lucas put his hand on Dustin's shoulder. "Wait, a cat? Dart ate a cat?"

"No, what? No." Dustin lied.

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews."

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked, confused by the argument occurring between the boys.

"It's Cat and Dustin's cat. Mainly Cat's though."

"Steve!" Dustin yelled.

"I knew it!" Lucas yelled, pushing Dustin slightly. "You kept him!"

"No!" Dustin denied. "No. No, I... No, I..." He struggled to get his words out. "He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!"

"I didnt know he was a Demogorgon, okay?"

"Oh, so now you admit it?"

"Guys, who cares? We have to go." Max told them.

"I care!" Lucas yelled. He turned back to Dustin. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!" Dustin fired back.

"What?"

"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin waved his torch in Max's face.

The young redhead scoffed. "A stranger?"

"You wanted to tell her, too!" Lucas fired at Dustin.

"But I didn't, Lucas, okay? I didn't tell her!"

The two continued to argue as Steve's attention was caught by the screeching in the distance and he began to worry even more about his best friend's safety. _Was she okay? Was she safe?_ Although, none of them knew that at that very moment, Catherine Henderson was in the middle of all the danger that was occurring.

"Guys?" Steve called out to them, taking a couple of steps away from them. "Guys!" Steve yelled, grabbing the young teens' attention. More screeching could be heard and all of them turned to the direction the noise was coming from. Steve raised his bat and rested it on his shoulder and racing off towards the noise. Dustin and Lucas were quick to follow him.

"No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Max called after them before hurrying to catch up with them before she ended up lost in the darkness of the woods.

***

_Edited: 23/5/2020_


	42. THIRTY NINE; The Mind Flayer

The group reached the edge of the woods, stopping just on top of a hill. The screeching was still ever present.

"I don't see him." Dustin commented.

Lucas held his binoculars up to his eyes to get a closer look. "It's the lab. They were going back home."

***

Back in the lab, the group were going over a plan- an escape plan. Cat leaned her head on the wall as Owens went over a map with them.

"Look, this is us, and this is the nearest exit." He pointed out with a pen, circling things on the paper. "But even if we somehow make it there, there's no way out."

"What do you mean, 'there's no way out'?" Cat asked, folding her arms over her chest. "Are you saying that we're trapped in here."

"I'm just saying that the locks are fail secure." The doctor explained.

"Fail secure?" Joyce asked.

"What the hell does that mean?" Cat asked, an eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.

Owens turned around to face the group. "If there's a power outage, the building goes on full lockdown."

"Can it be unlocked remotely?" Bob asked.

"With a computer, sure, but somebody's gotta reset the breakers."

"Where are the breakers?" Hopper asked the doctor.

"Breakers are in the basement, three floors down."

Hopper made his way to the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To reset the breakers."

"Okay, then what?" Bob asked him.

"Then we get the hell out of here."

"No, then the power comes back on." Bob informed him. "If you wanna unlock the doors, you have to completely reboot the computer system, and then override the security codes with a manual input."

"Fine, how do I do that?"

"You can't. Not unless you know BASIC."

"I don't know what that means."

"Well, then it looks like you're screwed." Cat muttered.

"It's a computer programming language." Mike told the chief.

"Teach it to me."

Bob scoffed. "Shall I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim? How about a little German?" He turned to Owens. "How about you, Doc? You speak BASIC?"

"No." Owens sighed.

"Okay, I got this." He turned back to Hopper. "I got this."

"No. Bob." Joyce cried.

"It's okay." He comforted as they hugged each other. "It's gonna be okay." Bob reiterated as they pulled away from one another. "Remember, Bob Newby, superhero."

Joyce chuckled lightly.

"I'm going too." Cat spoke, stepping away from the wall.

"What?" Hopper asked her.

"I'm going. I know how to use a gun and he's gonna need protecting." She pointed at Bob.

"You're not going." Hopper firmly told her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Yes I am. Last year I saved myself and Nancy from a Demogorgon. I think I'll be okay."

Hopper stared at her, still not letting her go.

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

***

Nancy and Jonathan pulled up to the gates of the lab in Jonathan's old car.

"Why are the lights off?" Jonathan asked as the two stepped out of the car, closing the doors as they did so.

"Maybe it's closed?" Nancy suggested, her words sounding more like a question.

"Security just took the night off? I don't think so." He walked into the booth that stood just in front of the gates and begun pressing the button that would usually open the gates.

"It's not working?" Nancy asked as she stood next to him.

"No! The power's off."

"Jonathan?" Nancy said, hearing approaching footsteps and rustling.

"What?" He stopped what he was doing and followed her gaze to the edge of the woods.

"I think there's something in the woods."

They made their way closer to the edge of the trees, seeing lights moving through the branches.

"Hello?" Jonathan called out. "Who's there?"

The figures became clearer and in unison, the two teens let out a shocked, "Steve?"

"Nancy?"

"Jonathan." Both Dustin and Steve questioned.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy asked as the two groups made their way closer to each other.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked them.

"We're looking for Mike and Will." Nancy answered. "Wait, Cat's not with you?" She asked, not seeing her best friend.

"I was hoping she'd be with you. Or with the other two kids." Steve told his now ex-girlfriend.

"They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked worriedly, pointing to the lab.

"We're not sure."

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

Before either of the group could answer, more screeching from the monsters could be heard, the sound answering Jonathan's question. Their heads all turned in the direction of the sound that unfortunately came from the direction of the lab.

***

Inside the lab, Bob and Cat were hurriedly making their way down the stairs to the basement in the hopes that they could reboot the system and regain power in the lab. Cat held the gun tightly in her hands while Bob held the torch and was wired up to an earpiece so the others could pass them instructions.

After a few jump scares and Cat nearly accidentally pulling the trigger on the gun, the pair made it to the correct room where Bob was quick to turn the main power back on.

"Yay." Cat grinned when the lights flickered back on. "No more being scared of the dark."

***

Back outside, the group were still discussing all the events each of them had been through and who had seen who last, when Nancy noticed something.

"The power's back."

They all ran back over to the small booth where Jonathan frantically pressed the _'open'_ button to the gates. But it still didn't work.

"Let me try." Dustin said, pushing Jonathan away from the button.

"Hang on-" Jonathan protested.

"Let me try, Jonathan!" Dustin repeated, his voice growing slightly louder in volume. He frantically pressed the button, desperate to get the gate to open, as the others all stood by the car, staring at the lab. "Son of a bitch!" Dustin exclaimed. "You know what..."

***

Back in the lab, Owens spoke to Bob and Catherine through a mic in the room three floors above them, while Cat stood guard with the gun- she was prepared to shoot anything that tried to attack her.

"Okay, Bob, Catherine, can you hear us?"

"Loud and clear, Doc." Bob spoke into the walkie after disconnecting the earpiece so Cat could hear too. "Can you hear me back?" He turned on the computer as Cat heard Owens' voice faintly through the walkie, informing them that the group upstairs could, in fact, hear them too. "Alright, give me a minute." He put the walkie-talkie down onto the tale and began typing. Cat honestly didn't have a clue as to what he was doing specifically. She'd never been good with computers- other than the basic things anyway.

Figuring that at the moment they had no chance of being attacked- plus the fact that holding the gun out in front of her for ages was really hurting her arms (it was heavy)- Cat placed the gun on the table. As she did so, Bob raised the walkie and spoke into it ("Open sesame.") as he pressed the buttons that would unlock the doors and allow them all to escape.

***

"Right, Cat and I'll meet you outside." Bob told the others.

"You did it?" Cat asked, happy to finally leave the lab.

"Sure did." Bob grinned at her. He placed the earpiece back in his ear so that Owens could guide them without the noise from the walkie catching the attention of the Demogorgons.

Just as they reached the doorway, Bob stopped. "What's going on?" He asked into the walkie.

"Is something happening?" Cat frowned in confusion.

 _"We've got some company."_ Owens told them.

"Where?"

_"The west stairwell."_

"What's going on?" Cat asked again, her voice full of worry.

"Company." Bob briefly explained to her before rushing back to the computer. "I got an idea." Cat watched as he pressed a bunch of buttons. "Okay. And splash." He muttered.

"What the hell did you just do?" Cat asked.

"Turned on the sprinklers in one of the hallways to clear our exit path."

"Wow." Cat grinned. "You really are a genius. Did it work?" She asked hopefully."

Bob waited a moment before replying as Owens was speaking to him. "Yeah, yeah I think so."

"Awesome. You are, like, so cool and smart." Cat praised.

In her excitement of watching a literal genius at work, Cat forgot that she'd left the gun on the table. That was the first mistake. By the time she'd realised, herself and Bob were hiding in a closet from one of the creatures as they had encountered in one of the corridors. Cat couldn't help but sigh- they were so close to leaving.

Being trapped in a small, dark closet with one of the most terrifying creatures standing just outside was almost enough for Cat's body to jump start a panic attack. Flashes of the previous year entered her mind again and Cat bit her lip in hopes to silence her crying. She didn't want to die.

The sounds of the creature moving away made Cat open her eyes. She lifted her sleeve up to her face to wipe the tears that had begun to fall.

 _"How you holding up there, Bob?"_ Cat faintly heard Owens' voice through the walkie. _"You two all right?"_

"F... Fine." Cat stammered, trying to even her breathing.

"Yeah." Bob breathed out into the walkie-talkie. "Yeah. We're okay." He glanced over to the teen to she her shaking slightly.

 _"You got a pretty clear shot to the front door."_ Owens told them.

"We... We're gonna have to run, aren't we?" Cat asked, her eyes wide as she looked to Bob.

"Yeah. Yeah we are. But we're gonna be okay." Bob reassured her.

Slowly, Bob opened the door, but accidentally knocked a broom as they exited the closet. That was their second mistake. The broom seemed to fall in slow motion and Cat attempted to catch it, but it slipped from her fingers and thudded to the floor. Unfortunately for the pair, the sound alerted the Demogorgon- and possibly all of the others.

Cat let out an ear-piercing scream as she ran alongside Bob, desperately trying to make it to the exit, preferably alive. They pushed through the double doors that led to the foyer, Cat letting out a brief sigh of relief at the sight of Joyce who was stood by the glass doors- the ones that led to the outside world and safety.

Their moment of relief vanished when, not one, but two Demogorgons came crashing through the door. The first sent Bob tumbling to the floor. The second leapt on top of Catherine, sending her crashing to the floor. It had a tight grip on her back as she desperately tried to get it off of her. Her voice was practically hoarse from all the screaming. Tears flowed down her face at an alarming rate as the creature dug its claws into her back, causing her to scream out in a blinding pain.

Hopper raced in and shot the creatures, unfortunately not in time to save Bob. The Demogorgon that had been attacking Cat fell limp and Hopper managed to pull her out from underneath it. He picked her up, cradling her in his arms as she sobbed. He also managed to drag Joyce away from the sight of her boyfriend's body being eaten by the disgusting creatures.

"What happened?" Mike screamed as soon as they made it outside.

In Hopper's arms, a barely conscious Catherine struggled to comprehend what was going on.

Just then, Jonathan's car rolled up with both him and Nancy in the front. "Come on!" The teen yelled, honking the car horn to grab the attention of the adults and Mike. "Get in!"

Joyce, Mike and Will's unconscious form climbed in to the car as Hopper placed Cat in the front of his truck. "Come on, kid." He muttered as he started the engine. "You gotta stay awake."

***

Back outside the gate, the young teens and Steve waited anxiously before quickly moving out of the way so as to not be run over by Jonathan's speeding car. Hopper stopped his van beside them and Steve hurried them up before climbing into the passenger seat and placing Cat on his lap. She immediately burst into tears.

"What the hell happened in there?" He asked Hopper.

"She was attacked." The chief answered simply as he focused on speeding his way to the Byers' house.

Steve gently comforted the Henderson teen as he asked one of the kids to reach into his backpack and pass him the spare jacket he had packed in there. Max was the one to pass it to him and Steve carefully used it to try and stop the blood that was seeping out of the wound on Cat's shoulder.

***  
 ** _A/N:_**

**I'm** **not lying when I say I sobbed while writing this chapter. Like, every time** **I** **sat down to write it,** **I** **couldn't** **. I kept procrastinating. Anyway, here it is and** **I'm** **sorry for destroying your emotions (you** **didn't** **need them anyway)**

_Edited: 8/6/2020_


	43. FORTY; The Mind Flayer

Once they made it to the Byers' house, Steve immediately rushed Catherine to the bathroom where he tried his best to stop the bleeding. But he needed help.

"Hey, Nancy?" He called, figuring his ex-girlfriend would be the best person to ask.

"Yeah?" Nancy asked, quickly making her way to the bathroom. "How bad is she?"

"Quite bad. I... I need your help. I don't know how to help her."

Nancy crouched down next to Steve and helped him fix up their best friend's shoulder wound- which was pretty bad. Once they finished dressing the wound and fixing Cat's shirt, the two teens sat together on the bathroom floor for a minute.

"You care for her, don't you." Nancy spoke, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah..." Steve murmured, running his fingers through Cat's hair as she slept, her head resting on his chest.

"She cares for you, too, you know." Nancy told him and Steve nodded slowly, Dustin's words about his sister flooding his mind.

"I'm sorry." Steve apologised suddenly.

"What?"

"I was going over to yours to apologise to you when I bumped into Dustin and got dragged into all of this. I shouldn't have said those things to you. That wasn't fair."

"It's okay. I understand. We both said some things we didn't necessarily mean. Anyway, you two should be together. Steve. I... I don't think we were totally right for each other. And it wasn't fair on Cat for me to go out with someone she deeply cares for. As more than a friend." Nancy rested her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we'd work out better just being friends?"

"Yeah." Steve placed his hand over Nancy's. "You should go to Jonathan, see how he's doing."

Nancy nodded and quietly left the room, giving Steve and Catherine some space.

***

Some time later, with Cat now awake and standing next to Steve in the living room- she was leaning on him and he had his arm around her good shoulder- Hopper was arguing down the phone to someone, trying to get help sent over to the lab.

"Sam Owens. Dr. Sam Owens." He paused as someone else spoke back to him through the receiver. Cat didn't bother to even try and eavesdrop. "I don't know how many people are there! I don't know how many people are left alive!"

Cat gently tugged Steve to the dining table where she sat down and pulled him into the chair next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Steve broke it.

"How are you holding up, Kit-Cat?"

"Not good. It was scary in there, Stevie, really scary." She leant her head on his shoulder. "I wish you could have been there with me."

Steve comfortingly rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been there too. I was really worried about you Kit-Cat. But I'm here now. And I'm going to protect you."

"Thanks, Stevie." She paused for a moment. "How bad exactly is my shoulder?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"Is it that bad? Be honest. Please."

"Yeah, it's unfortunately that bad. It's pretty deep. You're gonna have to be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"Yeah, sure." Steve commented, not really believing her.

Before Cat could say anything else, a commotion started in the kitchen, which caught the teens' attention and they made their way into the area where all the younger kids-minus Will who was still unconscious on the couch- were gathered. Cat, with Steve's help, sat herself on the kitchen counter and Steve stood next to her, holding her hand to comfort her as she was still upset from the evening's events.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asked Hopper, who had finally finished his frustrating phone call.

"We'll see."

"'We'll see'?" Mike reiterated. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

"He's right." Catherine spoke up. "Those things are dangerous."

"We stay here, and we wait for help."

"We can't!" Cat yelled, staring directly at the chief. "We didn't get help last year, did we? And we still managed fine on our own! So why should we wait for help now?!"

"We're staying here." The chief repeated before walking away from the room to go check on Joyce, who was sat in Will's room, wrapped up in a blanket.

***

The kids in the kitchen were all sat in silence. Cat lifted her gaze up from the floor as Mike got up from his seat at the table and made his way over to the pile of games that Bob had brought over for Will. He picked up one.

"Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" He asked, walking back over to them.

"Really?"

"He petitioned the school to start it and everything."

"He was pretty cool." Cat muttered.

"Yeah, he was. He had a fund-raiser for equipment too. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome right." Mike placed the brain-teaser onto the table.

"Yeah."

"We can't let him die in vain."

"I agree. We can't." Cat spoke up, gripping onto Steve's hand.

"What do you want to do, Mike? Kit?" Dustin asked.

"Kill those sons of bitches." Cat mumbled and Steve nodded in agreement.

"The Chief's right on this." Dustin continued. "We can't stop those Demo-dogs on our own."

"Demo-dogs?" Both Max and Catherine asked.

"Demogorgon dogs. Demo-dogs. It's like a compound." Dustin explained. "Really thought you'd understand that one, Kit."

"Well, my brain's been through all kind of messed up shit today, so... Try me again later?" Cat shrugged, picking at the dirt under her nails to distract herself.

"I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe..." Dustin continued, trailing off.

"But there's an army now." Lucas added.

"Precisely."

"It's a big army, guys." Cat told them. "I've seen it. Had a front row seat to their attacks." Steve pulled her into a comforting hug, his arms wrapping around her smaller frame.

"His army." Mike stated.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

"His army." Mike repeated as the others stared at him with looks of confusion. "Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too."

They raced over to Will's drawing.

"The Shadow Monster." Dustin stated.

"It got Will that day on the field." Mike stated.

"And attacked me, too." Cat told them.

"Wait, what?" Steve looked to her, confused. "That's what happened?"

"Yeah. I tried to protect Will, but it wouldn't let me."

"The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him. Although we're not sure what it did to Cat."

All eyes turned to the older Henderson. who raised her hands in defence. "Don't look at me. I don't know what it did to me, either." Although, she had an idea about it. But it was just that, a very vague idea.

"And so this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels?" Max asked.

"To the tunnels, monsters, the Upside Down, everything." Mike confirmed.

"Whoa. Slow down. Slow down." Steve told them, not understanding what they were saying due to the speed of the conversations.

"It's not that difficult to understand. Come on, catch up Stevie." Cat joked and nudged his arm slightly.

"Okay, so, the Shadow Monster's inside everything." Mike explained, slowly this time so everyone- mainly Steve- could understand. "And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will."

"And so does Dart." Lucas added.

"Yeah. Like what Mr. Clarke taught us." Mike agreed. "The hive mind."

"Hive what?" Cat asked, the same time Steve asked, "Hive mind?" It seemed like neither of the teens understood what the younger kids were going on about.

"A collective consciousness. It's a super-organism." Dustin explained. "You really should know this, Kit."

Cat stood there dumbfounded, a slightly offended look on her face. "I can't believe you're smarter than me." She mumbled.

"And this is the thing that controls everything." Mike pointed to Will's drawing. "It's the brain."

"Like the Mind Flayer." Dustin said and Lucas clicked his fingers at him.

"I'm so confused right now." Cat said, mainly to Steve.

"Me too." Steve agreed.

"The what?" Max asked.

Dustin placed the Dungeons and Dragons book on the kitchen table and everyone- apart from Joyce- gathered around him, waiting for an explanation. "The Mind Flayer." He stated.

"What the hell is that?" Hopper asked, looking extremely bored and tired.

"It's a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't even know its true home. Okay, it enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic powers."

"Oh, my God, none of this is real. This is a kids' game." Hopper told them.

"No, it's a manual. And it's not for kids. And unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor-"

"Analogy." Lucas corrected.

Dustin turned to him. "Analogy? That's what you're worried about? Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is."

"Okay, so this mind flamer thing-" Nancy started.

"Flayer. Mind Flayer." Dustin corrected.

The older Wheeler sighed. "What does it want?"

"To conquer us, basically." Dustin answered. "It believes it's the master race."

"Like the Germans?" Steve asked, stammering slightly. Both Nancy and Catherine looked to him, confusion on their faces.

"What?" Cat asked.

"Uh, the Nazis?" Dustin asked.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the Nazis."

"Uh... If the Nazis were from another dimension, totally. Uh, it views other races, like us, as inferior to itself."

"It wants to spread, take over other dimensions." Mike explained.

"We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it." Lucas added.

"That's great. That's great. That's really great." Steve stressed. "Jesus!" He ran a hand through his hair as he walked away from the table.

"Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it..." Nancy theorised, taking a closer look at the book.

"We kill everything it controls." Mike finished.

"We win."

"Theoretically."

"Great." Hopper walked over to Nancy and took the book from her. "So how do we kill this thing? Shoot it with Fireballs or something?"

Dustin chuckled. "No. No, no Fire- No Fireballs. Uh, you summon an undead army, uh, because..." He trailed off as Hopper stared at him and began to stammer slightly. "...because zombies, you know, they don't have brains, and the mind flayer, it... it... It likes brains. It's just a game. It's a game."

"What the hell are we doing here?" Hopper asked, slamming the book onto the table and walking away.

"I thought we were waiting for your military backup." Dustin answered, even though Hopper's question was probably rhetorical.

"We are!"

"Well where the hell are they then?" Cat questioned.

"Exactly." Mike agreed. "How are they gonna stop this? You can't just shoot this with guns."

"You don't know that!" Hopper yelled. "We don't know anything!"

"We know it's already killed everybody in that lab. Hell, it very nearly killed Cat!" Mike yelled back.

Cat moved herself closer to Steve, who wrapped his arms around her.

"We know the monsters are gonna molt again." Lucas pointed out.

"And we know that it's only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town." Dustin added.

"They're right." Joyce spoke from the doorway, her voice sounding very tired. "We have to kill it. I want to kill it."

Hopper walked over to her. "Me too. Me, too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing with here."

"No." Mike spoke. "But he does." He pointed to Will, still unconscious on the coach in the living room. He walked towards the two adults. "If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will." The others followed him into the living room. "He's connected to it. He'll know its weakness."

"I thought we couldn't trust him anymore." Max said. "That he's a spy for the Mind Flayer now."

"Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is."

***

Cat, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Nancy and Steve were anxiously waiting inside the house while Hopper, Jonathan, Joyce and Mike were in the now re-decorated shed trying to get through to Will.

Cat walked up to Steve who was stood in the center of the living room, swinging his bat around.

"It is going to be alright, isn't it?" She asked, catching Steve's attention. "Wil's going to be okay, isn't he?"

Steve stopped swinging his bat and placed it on the floor before turning to face the girl. He placed his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. "It's going to be fine. Will's going to be fine." He reassured her, pulling her into a hug- her head resting just under his chin. He wasn't sure if any of what he had just told her would be true, but Steve figured that it was the best thing to say in that moment. The two stayed like that for a few moments until the lights started flickering.

"What's going on?" Cat asked as the two teens walked into the kitchen alongside the others to peer out of the window in the direction of the shed. Steve had picked up his baseball bat and slung it over his shoulder, while his other arm was wrapped around Cat's shoulder.

***

Five minutes or so, maybe less- Cat wasn't sure- the others came bounding back into the house.

"What happened?" Dustin asked as Hopper grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and sat down at the table.

Hopper sighed as he started writing on the paper, everyone crowding around him. "I think he's talking, just not with words."

. . . . . ._. .

"What is that?" Steve asked as Hopper started translating what he had drawn on the paper.

"Morse code." The boys chorused.

"Even I knew that." Cat muttered, nudging her elbow into Steve's side slightly.

"H-E-R-E." Hopper read out as he wrote down each letter.

"Here." The group repeated.

"So he's still in there?" Cat asked Hopper hopefully.

"Yeah." Hopper put down the pen. "Will's still in there. He's talking to us."

***

The group that were situated inside the house finally decoded the message that Will was trying to communicate.

"Close gate." The group read off the paper Nancy had written the message on. The phone ringing made them all jump and Dustin ran over to it. He picked the phone up and quickly hung up the call.

The phone rang again a second later and Nancy was quick to pull the whole thing off the wall.

"Good idea." Cat told her, sending the girl a thumbs up.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max asked.

"It's just a phone." Steve pointed out. "It could be anywhere. Right?" He looked between Cat and Nancy to see if they would agree.

The sound of monsters screeching somewhere in the distance alerted all of them.

"Somehow, I don't think you're right, Steve." Cat spoke, making sure to stay close to his side.

"That's not good." Dustin commented, voicing what they were all probably thinking- or something along the lines of it.

Hopper and the others raced back into the house as the kids leant on the couch, staring out the window. "Hey. Hey, get away from the windows!" The kids immediately moved to the other side of the room. "Do you know how to use this?" Hopper asked Jonathan, holding one of the guns out to him.

"What?"

"Can you use this?" Hopper asked again.

"I can." Both Nancy and Catherine answered.

Hopper chucked the gun to Nancy. "Not with your shoulder, you're not." He told Cat, making her frown.

"Stay behind me." Steve whispered to her, swinging his bat around.

"But I want to help." Cat whined. "I want to be able to protect myself, not rely on others to do so for me."

"Tough luck." Steve replied, gently pushing her behind him.

"Where are they?" Max asked after hearing more screeching.

"No idea." Cat told her, honestly. The older teen grabbed the redhead's hand, hoping to be able to give the girl some form of comfort.

The group all suddenly turned to their right as the creatures let out loud screeching and thudding from that particular direction. 

"What are they doing?" Nancy asked.

More noise came from just beyond the main window in the living room, and the group were quick to turn back to face that direction. All of a sudden, the screeching abruptly came to a halt, confusing all of them.

"What the hell?" Cat muttered before letting out a shrill scream as one of the Demogorgons came flying through the window and crashing on the floor on the other side of the room. The group quickly moved out of the way before it crashed into anyone. "Holy shit." Cat muttered, gripping tightly onto the back of Steve's jacket as she tried to calm her breathing.

They all inched slowly towards it- Hopper in front of them.

"Is it dead?" Max asked.

"I hope so." Cat answered, loosening her grip on Steve's jacket as she peered around his shoulder at the creature.

Hopper, with his hands gripped tightly around the gun, kicked the limp figure that was the Demogorgon.

From the other side of the room, the door begun to creak- catching the attention of the group. They all spun around cautiously, weapons raised and pointing at the door. The locks were opening by themselves- not that Catherine saw as Steve had pushed her behind him again, to protect her. Not that she needed protecting right now.

The door swung open and everyone lowered their weapons as the girl stepped inside.

She was dressed practically all in black, with her hair slicked back and eyeliner outlining her eyes, complete with blood dripping from her nose. But it was her. It was El. She was back.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	44. FORTY ONE; The Gate

Mike and El walked up to each other, the pair finally reunited.

"Eleven." Mike greeted.

"Mike." El gasped as the two pulled each other into a hug.

Cat felt fresh tears- ones of happiness- fall down her face. Steve noticed her crying and gave her a questioning look.

"El's back." Cat explained, wiping her tears on her sleeve. "They're reunited. They're together again."

"Is that..." Max asked, trailing off. Lucas and Dustin nodded.

"I never gave up on you." Mike said as the two young teens pulled out of their hug. "I called you every night. Every night for-"

"Three hundred and fifty three days." El said, completing Mike's sentence. "I heard."

"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper answered, walking over to the two.

"Wh.. What?" Cat stammered. "Why?"

"The hell is this?" Hopper asked El. "Where you been?"

"Where have you been?" El asked him as Hopper pulled her into a hug.

"You've been hiding her." Mike realised. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" He shoved Hopper.

"Hey!"

"Mike, stop!" Cat yelled, stepping forward slightly.

Hopper grabbed the front of Mike's shirt. "Let's talk. Alone." The two went in to one of the bedrooms to talk, although it was more like Mike yelling at Hopper.

El walked over to Lucas and Dustin, the three of them sharing a hug.

"We missed you." Lucas told her.

"I missed you, too."

"We talked about you pretty much every day." Dustin said.

The three friends pulled out of their hug and El stared at Dustin for a moment before pushing her finger into his mouth. "Teeth." She stated.

"What?"

"You have teeth."

"Oh." Dustin grinned. "You like these pearls?" He purred and everyone in the room cringed slightly.

"Dustin." Cat said, and her brother looked at her. "Don't."

El walked over to Cat and hugged her tightly. "Sister."

"Yeah, it's good to have you back, kiddo." Cat smiled, hugging El just as tightly.

"You two are sisters?" Steve asked and Cat shook her head silently at him. "I'm so confused."

El pulled away slightly from Cat and the older girl gently wiped the blood that was leaking from her nose.

"Hurt." El noticed, pointing to the bandage around Cat's shoulder that was poking out from under her shirt. "You're hurt."

"Yeah. But I'm okay now, El." She squeezed the younger girl into another tight hug. "Oh, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, sister." El pulled away from Catherine and pointed to her arm. "Sister."

"What do you mean?"

El took Cat's arm in her hand and rolled up her sleeve, pointing at the older girl's forearm. "We're sisters."

"Wh... What?" At a closer glance, Cat could see the very faint traces of a number on her arm. It was something she had never noticed before. "What the hell?"

"Like me." El told her as Cat's eyes widened. "You are like me." She traced over the very faded numbers on the older girl's arm. "001. Sister."

Cat couldn't take her eyes off her arm. "Sister..." She repeated, her voice quiet. "I have a sister..." She let out a small sob, struggling to take in all the new information, and Steve was quick to pull her into a hug. She buried her face into his chest. "Oh, my God." She breathed out.

"Why... Why is she crying?" El asked Steve. "Is she... is she sad?"

"No, she's not sad. They're happy tears. And she's, she's just very tired. It's been a long day." Steve explained to the young girl. "It's El, right?" The young girl nodded. "I'm Steve. It's great to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too. Steve."

"Eleven?" Max asked, walking towards the girl in order to officially meet her. "Hey. Um, I'm Max." She held out her hand for El to shake. "I've heard a lot about you." El just pushed past her and walked over to greet Joyce. The older woman pulled her into a hug and held the girl for a few moments.

"Can I see him?" El asked, clearly talking about Will.

***

"You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce asked, showing El the paper where Will's morse code message was written.

"Yes."

"Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?"

***

"It's not like it was before." Hopper told the group who were all crowded round the table. "It's grown. A lot. And I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demo-dogs."

Hopper sighed and turned to Dustin. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Now is probably not the time, Dustin." Cat sighed, walking around the table to get herself a glass of water.

Dustin, however, ignored her. "I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs." He explained. "You put them together, it sounds pretty badass-"

Cat walked back round the table, with her refreshing glass of water in hand. She stood behind her brother and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dusty, I don't think this is the time."

"How is this important right now?" Hopper asked as Cat stood there watching the rest of the conversation as she took a sip of her water.

"It's not. I'm sorry."

"I can do it." El spoke up, causing everyone's heads to turn to her.

"You're not hearing me." Hopper said to her.

"I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem." Mike told them. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"Isn't that the whole point?" Cat asked, slightly confused. Max nodded, agreeing with the older girl.

"It is, but if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..." Mike trailed off.

"Will's a part of that army." Lucas said, realising what Mike meant.

Cat's mouth opened in shock, her lips forming an 'O' shape.

"Closing the gate will kill him." Mike said.

***

The group all followed Joyce into Will's room- the young boy lying unconscious on his bed. Cat's gaze landed on the open window on the other side of the room. She shivered slightly and moved her body closer to Steve for extra warmth. Without thinking, Steve immediately wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, her head level with his shoulders.

"He likes it cold." Joyce said, her words barely audible.

"What?"

"It's what Will kept saying to me." Joyce explained. "He likes it cold." She went over to the window and pulled it shut. "We keep giving it what it wants."

"If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..." Nancy trailed off and Cat was quick to pick up the end of her sentence.

Cat raised her hands slightly to grab Steve's, which were wrapped around her torso. "We need to make the host uninhabitable."

"So if he likes it cold..." Nancy started.

"We need to burn it out of him." Joyce finished.

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike pointed out.

"Yeah, somewhere far away." Dustin added.

"Where?" Cat asked.

***

"You should go with him." Steve said to Nancy as they looked through the pile of stuff from that had been thrown out of the shed for a heater.

"What?"

"With Jonathan."

"No, I'm..." She scoffed. "I'm not just gonna leave Mike."

"No one's leaving anyone." Steve moved over to help Nancy lift something, and to shine the torch for her to see. "I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but..." He picked up a heater. "turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter." He handed her the heater.

"Steve..."

"It's okay, Nance. It's okay."

Before Nancy could get any words out, Steve walked away- passing by Cat as she was making her way outside. They smiled at each other as Steve went back inside and Cat walked over to talk to Nancy.

"Hey." Cat said, awkwardly shoving her hands in her pockets. "What's happening out here?"

"I... I think Steve and I are officially over."

"What?"

"I mean, we talked earlier, but... I think now it's official."

"Oh..." Cat was unsure what to say. She placed a hand on Nancy's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just need to process it all..."

Catherine pulled her friend into a hug.

"Us dating wasn't fair on you anyway."

"What? What do you mean?"

"You've always liked Steve."

"What? No I haven't." Cat lied.

"Don't act like it's not true. It's so obvious that you like him. And I was a shitty best friend because I dated him."

"You're not a shitty friend, Nance. I mean, yeah it's not right to date your friend's crush, but I forgive you. It's not like you married him." Cat joked, a smile appearing on her face.

"You can date him if you want." Nancy said. "I broke the girl code, so it's only right you do it do."

Cat shook her head. "I couldn't. Besides, he probably doesn't like me like that anyway."

Nancy scoffed. "Yeah, right." She looked like she was about to say something else before the two were called to the front of the house where everyone was saying goodbye.

***

"El!" Cat called out as she sped over to the girl. "Be careful, okay?" She pulled her into a tight hug.

El wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'll be careful. Don't worry about me."

Cat pulled back slightly and held El's face in her hands. "I'm always going to worry about you." She placed a kiss atop the younger girl's forehead before the two let go. Cat watched silently as El climbed into the police van, before making her way over to Hopper. "Take care of her, please." She whispered as she hugged the tall Chief of police.

"I will. You know I will, kiddo." Hopper reassured the teen as he hugged her back.

After a few moments, Cat pulled away and walked over to Jonathan and Nancy. She pulled them both into a hug, wrapping her arms around their taller frames. "You guys be careful, okay? I don't want to lose you too."

"We'll be fine." Jonathan reassured her as the three friends pulled out of their shared hug.

"And Steve and I'll look after the others." Cat said, reassuring the others that she would keep their siblings' safe.

Nancy pulled her into another hug, carefully wrapping her arms around Cat's shoulders. "Take care."

Cat simply nodded, sure she'd start crying if she opened her mouth to say anything else. Slowly and silently, she walked back to the front porch as her friends climbed into the car. She stood next to Steve and the others as they watched their friends drive off in order to help save the town and Will.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	45. FORTY TWO; The Gate

"What the hell?!" Cat exclaimed as she entered the kitchen, the thought of getting another glass of water escaping her mind at the mess Dustin was making. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Making room in the Byers' fridge." He answered casually.

Ca raised her eyebrows slightly. "No shit. I can see that. But why?"

"So the dead Demo-dog can fit in there."

"Wh-what?" Cat stammered out, her eyes landing on Steve who was stood there with the revolting creature in his arms- although it was wrapped in a blanket.

"All right." Dustin sighed, having finished throwing out the last of the stuff in the fridge. "It should fit now."

"Is this really necessary?" Steve asked, looking completely exhausted.

"Yes, it is, okay? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery." Dustin told them. Cat tiredly leant against the wall, her eyes fluttering shut as she hadn't slept properly in like twenty-four (maybe even forty eight- she'd lost track of the days) hours. "We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog."

"No shit, Sherlock." Cat mumbled, rubbing exhaustion from her eyes.

"All right, all right, all right." Steve sighed, stepping towards the fridge. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?"

"I'll make sure he does." Cat assured him, snorting in amusement at the way Steve was struggling with shoving the Demo-dog into the pretty small fridge. The two eventually managed to fit the creature in the confined space, and Steve ruffled Dustin's hair through his hat once they were done.

Cat giggled, a sound no one had heard leave her mouth in forever, and made her way into the living room where Lucas and Max were sweeping.

"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas yelled.

Cat's gaze landed on Mike, who was pacing the length of the room. Her eyebrows furrowed and she immediately knew what he was worrying about- El. Cat was too. Then again, she was worried about everyone. She chose to only think about the protection of Lucas, Dustin, Max and Mike (and Steve, but she knew that he was more than capable of looking after himself), in order to stop her worrying about the safety of the others who weren't with them in the house.

"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike stopped pacing and turned to his friend. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demo-dogs!" Dustin yelled from the kitchen.

"The chief will take care of her." Lucas told Mike- 'her' being El.

"Like she needs protection." Max muttered.

"Listen, dude," Steve entered the room, wiping the Demogorgon gunk off his hands with a towel, "a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?"

Cat raised her eyebrows at him, not understanding a word he just said. "I'm sorry, what? I don't speak 'sport'."

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game." Mike said. "And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench."

Steve stammered, struggling with how to answer what Mike had just said. "So my point is..." He trailed off as they all stared at him expectantly. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do." He threw the towel over his shoulder.

"We have to do something. I can't just sit here worrying about the others and how they're doing." Cat complained, falling dramatically onto the sofa- wincing when she accidentally knocked her injured shoulder on the back of the couch.

"That's not entirely true." Dustin said and everyone turned their attention to him. "I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"So, if we get their attention..." Lucas started.

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab." Max suggested, following Lucas' brainwave.

"Clear a path to the gate." Mike added.

"Yeah, and then we all die." Steve told them, his arms folded across his chest.

"Wow. Rude." Cat mumbled. "They're just trying to help."

"And I'm just trying to keep us all alive." Steve responded, turning to face Cat who was sprawled out dramatically across the sofa.

"I got it!" Mike announced, having walked into the kitchen. The others followed him, Steve helping Cat off the sofa. "This is where the chief dug his hole." Mike pointed to the bit of Will's map with the massive red cross drawn over it. It felt like forever ago since Cat had been standing in this room, discussing how to rescue Hopper, when in reality it had probably been a couple of days.

"This is our way into the tunnel. So..." Mike continued, running out of the room towards another part of the map. "Here, right here. This is like a hub." He crouched down on the floor next to another part of the map, the other kids copying him. "So you got all the tunnels feeding in here." He gestured.

"You got any idea what he's talking about?" Steve asked Cat.

"Vaguely." She answered, her attention completely on the kids and the plan they were making.

"Maybe if we set this on fire..." Mike gestured to the so-called hub.

"Oh, yeah? That's a no." Steve tried to cut in, but was ignored by the kids, and Cat because she was way too interested in their plan to hear what he just said.

"The mind flayer would call away his army." Dustin added.

"They'd all come to stop us."

"Uh huh." Cat nodded, surprised she was following along.

"We circle back to the exit."

"Guys." Steve tried again, still not catching anyone's attention.

"By the time they realize we're gone-"

"El would be at the gate."

"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Steve yelled, clapping his hands together to grab their attention. "This is not happening."

"But-" The kids tried to protest.

Steve stood there, his hands firmly on his hips. "No, no, no, no, no. No buts. Cat and I promised to keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what we- well I, at least- plan on doing."

"Hey!" Cat protested. "You know that I want to protect them just as much as you do." She huffed and crossed her arms over chest in annoyance.

"Okay. Fine." Steve agreed, still in parent mode. "We're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game." Mike told him.

"I said, does everybody understand that?" Steve repeated. None of them responded. "I need a yes." Steve stared pointedly at Cat who mumbled her agreement under her breath.

An engine revving outside caught the attention of those inside the house. Max was quick to head to the window and Cat followed her, spotting a car driving up to the house.

"It's my brother." Max realised. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

"Well, shit." Cat muttered, moving away from the window. She turned to Steve, who was heading towards the front door. "What are you doing?" She asked, rushing up to him.

"Getting him to leave." He placed his hand on the door handle.

"I'm coming with you." Cat placed her hand on his arm.

"No. I need you to stay inside. Last time you confronted him, you got hurt. Plus, you've already scratched up your shoulder pretty bad."

"Fine." Cat raised her hands in the air. "I'm staying inside." She leant on the wall next to the door as Steve stepped outside, the door closing behind him.

"Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?" Billy Hargrove said as he stepped out of his car.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants." Steve retorted.

Cat had to stifle a giggle so as to not be heard by the boys outside.

"Little Catherine not with you then?" Billy teased as he took his jacket and slung it into his car before slamming the door. "What are you doing here, _amigo_?"

Steve walked a few steps forward, so as to try and draw Billy away from the house full of kids and one injured teenager.

"I could ask you the same thing." Steve paused as the two met in the middle of the driveway. " _Amigo_." He folded his arms over his chest.

"Looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here." Billy lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

"Huh, that's weird. I don't know her."

"Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch."

"Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy."

Billy removed the cancer stick from his mouth and sighed. "You know, I don't know, this..." He gestured around with his hand. "This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh. yeah?" They were practically in each other's faces at this point. "Why's that?"

"My thirteen year-old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you in a stranger's house. And you lie to me about it."

Steve chuckled slightly- although it was due to him being nervous. "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?" Billy blew out a puff of smoke into Steve's face. "I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here."

"Then who is that?" Billy pointed towards the window.

Back in the house, Cat glanced over to the kids. When she saw them practically sticking their heads out the window, she nearly screamed. Instead, she whisper yelled at them to get the hell away from there, moving forward and grabbing their arms to move them away.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed. "Did he see us?"

"You better fucking hope he didn't!" Cat threw her arms up in frustration, crying out in pain from moving her shoulder. "Shit."

The door slammed open and in stormed a furious Billy Hargrove. Cat was too worried about protecting the kids from him, that she didn't notice that Steve wasn't behind him.

"Well, well, well." Billy slammed the door shut behind him as he walked towards the group of kids. Cat protectively pushed them behind her, not wanting any of them to get hurt. "Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise."

"You stay the fuck away from them, Hargrove." Catherine snapped. "You harm so much as a hair on their heads and I'll fucking kill you."

"Well, if it isn't little Catherine Henderson." He smirked and sent her a wink.

"Never gonna happen, Hargrove."

"Oh yeah, that's right." He took a couple of steps closer to her. "You're in love with the ex-king of Hawkins High."

"Get out, Hargrove." Cat stepped forward and attempted to make her seem taller and more menacing than she actually was at the height of 5 foot 6.

"Not until I finish for I came here for." He sneered, leaning down so his mouth was by her ear. "Now, move." Billy grabbed her shoulders- which caused Catherine to hiss in pain- and shoved her to the floor as he made his way over to Lucas and Max.

"I though I told you to stay away from him, Max."

Catherine, although dazed from hitting her head on the edge of the wall, tried to stand up. "Leave them alone, Billy." Her words came out as a sort of mumble as she lifted a shaky hand to the back of her head, feeling a spot of blood beginning to coat her dark blonde hair. "Shit."

Billy ignored her as he continued to tower of Max. "You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy..." Max started.

"I break things." Billy suddenly grabbed Lucas and shoved him into the wall.

All the kids started yelling at him to stop.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Cat screamed, storming over to where Billy was holding Lucas against the wall. She grabbed to Hargrove boy's arms and desperately tried to pull him off the younger boy.

"Since Maxine won't listen to me, maybe you will. You stay away from her."

"Stop it!" Catherine screamed at an ear piercing volume, causing the glass windows to smash. Billy's body was thrown across the room where he crashed into the front door.

"You bitch!" Billy yelled, finding his feet and storming over to Catherine. whose nose was streaming with blood. He harshly grabbed her by her arms and threw her into the wall. Cat cried out as her badly injured shoulder came into contact with the wall behind her. As Billy readied himself to punch her, Cat lifted her foot up and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. "You are so dead, Henderson." He balled one of his hands into a fist as the other tightly gripped her injured shoulder. Billy pulled his arm back before crashing his fist into Cat's face. A loud crack sounded, signalling that he had just broken her nose. "You're so dead!" Billy screamed in her face, tears streaming from her eyes.

Steve, upon entering the room and seeing his best friend (and crush) being punched by Billy Hargrove, stormed up to him and pulled him back away from the crying teen. "No. You are." Steve's fist went flying into Billy's face.

Billy was knocked back a few steps before he straightened his posture and began laughing. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? Psycho Henderson over there hasn't turned you completely soft yet, then." He let out another laugh. "I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about."

"Get out." Steve said simply, shoving Billy's chest slightly.

Billy didn't say anything as he threw a punch at Steve, who ducked out of the way. Steve shoved Billy into the kitchen table, causing him to lose his balance for a second.

"Yes!" Dustin yelled. "Kick his ass, Steve!"

"Get him!" Mike yelled.

Steve landed another punch, which made Billy stumble into the kitchen counters.

"Murder the son of a bitch!" Dustin screamed in encouragement.

With his back against the sink, Billy reached to his right and grabbed a plate.

"Watch out!" Cat yelled, her voice lost in the sea of shouting. Wobbling slightly, she stood up from her curled up position on the floor just as Billy smashed the plate over Steve's head. "Billy! Stop!" She screamed.

Steve stumbled back slightly and Billy landed another punch. Cat rushed over and pulled Steve away from Billy, just as he threw another punch. This time though, instead of hitting Steve, he hit Catherine. The force was so hard, Cat could already feel a black eye forming.

"Shit!" She cried out, shoving all her bodyweight into Billy's muscly frame. Billy shoved her small frame away from him, throwing her to the floor. Her head collided with the coffee table and her vision slowly went black. Billy Hargrove had knocked her unconscious.

The fight continued on around her, Billy shoving Steve to the floor as he repeatedly punched him.

"You're gonna kill him." Dustin screamed, his voice barely audible over the sounds of the other kids yelling.

Max spied the syringe on the counter next to her. Grabbing it, she pushed past Lucas and Mike and slammed it into her step-brother's neck. Billy stood up, staring at Max as his vison blurred. He pulled the syringe out of his neck and took a few shaky steps towards the young red-head.

"The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?" He collapsed to floor and began to laugh.

Max grabbed the spiked baseball bat and leant over Billy, the bat held threateningly over her shoulder. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"

"Screw you." Billy mumbled.

Max threw the baseball bat down, hitting the floor right between Billy's legs. She threw it up in the air again, holding it above her shoulder. "Say you understand!" She screamed. "Say it! Say it!"

"I understand." Billy mumbled.

"What?"

"I understand." Billy's eyes closed as he finally fell unconscious.

Max threw the baseball down before leaning over her step-brother and taking the car keys from his pocket.

Two conscious teens, or not, they were still going to carrying out their plan.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	46. FORTY THREE; The Gate

Billy's Camaro sped down the road, with Max in the drivers seat. Seeing as how both of the older teens were unconscious and Max was the only one who knew how to work the car, she had been elected as the driver.

In the back seat, Steve began to stir. His eyes opened, as much as they could with a forming black eye, and landed on Mike who held a can of gasoline on his lap.

"Nancy?" Steve slurred slightly, causing Mike to shoot him a weird look. The Harrington teen tried to sit up, but was stopped by a weight on his stomach. Looking down, he could just make out Catherine curled up- her head lying on his stomach while her feet where resting on Dustin's lap. Her eyes were shut and there was a lot of dried blood over her face. Steve groaned and lifted his hand to his nose which felt pretty busted- although Cat's looked worse than his felt.

Dustin reached a hand over and moved Steve's hand away from his face- his other hand holding the icepack that had been placed on the older teen's head (which was covered in bandaids). "No, don't touch it." The younger Henderson instructed. "Hey, buddy..." Dustin greeted as Steve looked up at him. "It's okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a fight. You're okay."

Steve groaned in pain, sitting up slightly. As he sat up slightly straighter, he accidentally moved Catherine, causing her to stir slightly. Her eyes opened, although she could barely see out of one. Cat wrapped her arms around Steve's waist, stopping herself from slipping off the backseat.

"Okay, you're gonna keep straight for a half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai." Lucas instructed Max from where he was sat in the front passenger seat.

"What the fuck is happening?" Cat asked, her eyes landing on Max and Lucas in the front of the car. "Why are we moving?" She lifted a hand up to her nose to wipe the dried blood away. "Fuck!" She cried out as her hand knocked her injury. Tears formed in her eyes at the pain as fresh blood began to flow. "Shit." She mumbled, digging in her pocket for a tissue, which she didn't have. Steve dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, handing it to her as he questioned the situation.

"What's going on?"

"Why won't my nose stop bleeding?" Cat asked, mumbling as she kept her focus on Steve. In her dazed state, she lifted a hand up and traced her fingers over the many bandaids that littered his face.

"Oh, my God!" Steve exclaimed as he reaslied that Max was driving the car.

"What?" Cat asked, her fingers on Steve's face- although she had stopped tracing the bandaids and was just resting her fingers on Steve's cheek. "What's happening?" She glanced up at Dustin.

"Just relax. She's driven before." Dustin reassured the older teens.

"Yeah, in a parking lot." Mike pointed out.

"That counts." Lucas argued.

Cat scoffed. "Hardly."

"Cat, you don't even have a license." Lucas pointed out. Cat rolled her eyes in response to the younger boy.

"They were gonna leave you two behind." Dustin told the older teens.

"Oh, my God." Steve was starting to freak out.

Cat screwed her eyes shut and buried her face in Steve's jacket, her fingers now clinging tightly onto his t-shirt.

"I promised that you'd be cool, okay?" Dustin said, still holding the icepack to Steve's head. Cat reached up and snatched the icepack from his hands, mumbling something about needing it more, and placed it on her nose- her face still buried in Steve's jacket.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on?" Steve yelled as Max sped up the car.

"Are we going to die?" Cat asked, looking up at Steve. "I don't want to die."

"You're not gonna die. Stop being dramatic." Lucas chided, his eyes focused on the map he was holding.

"Oh, my God. No! Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down." Steve yelled, continuing to freak out.

"I told you they'd freak out." Mike fired at Dustin.

"Stop the car!"

"I don't want to die!"

"Everybody shut up!" Max yelled. "I'm trying to focus!"

"Oh, wait, that's Mount Sinai." Lucas yelled, pointing out the window. "Make a left."

"What?"

"Make a left."

Max turned the wheel suddenly, crashing into a letterbox as she spun the car round the sudden turning. Everyone started screaming, Cat and Steve screaming the most. Cat had fresh tears of fear (and pain from her various injuries) roll down her face.

"I don't want to die." She muttered, pushing her face further into Steve's chest as everyone was thrown about in the back of the car.

***

Max stopped the car very suddenly, throwing everyone forwards in their seats.

"Holy shit!" Cat yelled as she and Steve were thrown forward, her head colliding with the edge of Lucas' seat.

"Incredible." Mike said.

"That was absolutely terrifying." Cat muttered, pushing herself into a sitting position on Steve's lap.

"I told you." Max said. "Zoomer."

"Can I go home now?" Cat asked, shaking from fear.

"No." Lucas said to her. "We came here to help the others and that's exactly what we're gonna do."

Cat sighed and leant her head back against Steve's shoulder. The kids all clambered out of the car, and Cat and Steve followed, falling out of the blue Camaro.

"Guys." Steve muttered, attempting to gain the attention of the kids who were 'suiting up' for their adventure in the tunnels. He leant himself on the car as Cat went over to the trunk and started putting her own gear on- she might have been slightly dazed and very injured, but she'd be damned if she didn't help one way or another. "Oh, no. Guys." Mike walked past him towards the entrance to the tunnels, Max and Lucas right behind him. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" The ignored him. "What are you, deaf? Hello? We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear."

"Stevie, honey," Cat walked over to him with her gear, placing the goggles over her eyes. "We're going down there. You can stay up here if you're that against this, and I'll look after the kids down there. But we have to do this." She placed a gentle hand on his arm and his features instantly softened. "A party member requires assistance, my sister needs our help, and so it's their- our," she corrected herself, "job to provide them with that help."

Dustin walked over to the pair, Steve's backpack with his baseball bat sticking out the top of it. "I know you promised Nance that you would keep us safe." He said as his sister covered the lower-half of her face with a handkerchief. Dustin handed Steve the backpack. "So keep us safe."

Steve sighed and took the backpack. He turned to Cat. "Stay close to me. You're seriously injured and we don't know what's down there." She nodded, pulling the taller boy into a hug. "I don't want to lose you." He muttered.

"We'll be okay." Cat reassured. Whether she was reassuring herself or Steve, she didn't know.

***

Steve lowered himself down the rope, helping the others- and especially Cat- down into the tunnels. "Holy shit." Steve muttered as he and Catherine took a look at their surroundings. He took Cat's hand in his as they caught up with the kids ahead of them.

"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure it's this way." Mike said from up ahead. He held a hand drawn map in his hands, shining his torch over the paper to see it in the dark tunnels.

"You're pretty sure, or you're certain?" Dustin asked him.

"We cannot get lost down here." Cat pointed out, putting emphasis on _'cannot'_.

"I'm 100% sure Just follow me and you'll know."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don't think so." Steve said, walking up to Mike, Cat having to keep up with him as their hands were still together.

"What?"

"Any of you little shits die down here, Cat and I get the blame. Got it, dipshit?"

Cat wacked Steve in the arm. "Don't be so rude." She scolded. "But he does have a point." She said to Mike as Steve took the map from his hands.

"From here on out, I'm leading the way." Steve announced to the rest of the group. "Come on, let's go." He waved them down the tunnel.

"I can't wait to just curl up on the couch with Mews and watch 'Grease'." Cat sighed, swinging hers and Steve's joint hands as they walked.

"Uh, yeah, about that..." Dustin trailed off, guilt obvious in his voice.

"What?" Cat spun around to face him, eyebrows furrowing instantly. "What did you do?"

"Well..." Dustin started, before backing out of his confession to his older sister. "Steve, you tell her."

Cat instantly turned to face Steve, stopping in her tracks. "What the hell happened?"

"Uh... Dustin's pet Demogorgon ate your cat."

"What the fuck?!" She whirled round to face Dustin. "Why would you let it do that to my baby?!"

"It was an accident." Dustin defended. "I didn't know Dart was a Demogorgon-"

"Oh, my God!" Cat screamed. "I can't believe you." She started to walk away, pulling Steve with her as their hands were still connected. "Why can't life be normal?..." She sighed, silent tears rolling down her face in memory of her favourite pet.

***

The group made their way through the tunnels, Steve and Cat in the lead, the two teens still holding hands. Cat held the torch while Steve held the map, following the crayon lines drawn on it. The group stopped in a large area of the tunnel, marvelling at the space.

"What is this place?" Max asked.

"Guys, come on." Steve said, continuing on through the tunnels and gently pulling Cat along after him. "Keep moving."

The kids followed behind them, however, Dustin stopped to look at something on the roof of the tunnels which kept spitting out the floating white flakes.

"What the hell?" He muttered, staring up at it. The thing on the roof of the tunnel spat out a batch of fresh white flakes, straight in Dustin's face. "Shit!" Dustin screamed.

His screams grabbed the attention of Cat up ahead, who immediately let go of Steve's hand and rushed over to her brother, tripping on a few roots as she ran. Although she was pissed at him still for the fate of her cat, she still cared for her younger brother and was concerned for his wellbeing.

"What happened?" She panicked, crouching down and grabbing Dustin's arm as he wailed about on the floor of the tunnel. "Are you okay?"

"It's in my mouth!" Dustin screamed, pulling down the handkerchief around his mouth. The others had by now run back over to the siblings, Steve crouching down next to a panicking Catherine. "Some got on my mouth! Shit!" Dustin continued to scream before he started coughing.

"Dustin?" Cat asked, placing a hand on her brother's back. "Are you alright?" She glanced over to Steve, worry heavily etched over her features.

"I'm okay." Dustin said, looking up at the group of worried teenagers.

"You scared the crap out of me." Cat sighed, staring at her younger brother. "Don't do that again." The group continued on their path down the tunnels, Cat staying by Dustin. "You are not to leave my side. I'm not losing you, okay?" She pulled Dustin into a hug. "You can stay by Steve and I, that way I can keep a close eye on you."

***

"All right, Wheeler." Steve said, shining the torch around the tunnels. "I think we found your hub."

The Hub had many other tunnels connecting to it. The whole sight made Cat want to shiver in fear, but she had to be brave. They were doing this to help El. To help Will. And to help save this goddamn town that they lived in.

"Lets drench it." Mike said.

The group got to work, covering each and every part of the hub with gasoline- Steve helping Catherine as she couldn't lift the cans due to her shoulder. 

Once they were finished, they all crouched behind Steve in the entrance to their tunnel, their only exit out of the place.

"You ready?" Steve asked, holding out Catherine's lighter.

"Yeah." Mike answered.

"Lets burn this hell hole." Cat said, her hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Light her up." Dustin said.

Steve flicked the lighter, "I am in such deep shit." He muttered before he threw the lighter into the gasoline covered hub. The gasoline lit up in flames immediately and the group shielded their faces from the heat with their hands.

"Go, go, go!" Steve yelled as the kids ran back down the tunnels. Cat grabbed ahold of Steve's hand, gripping onto him tightly as they sprinted away from the fire and possible Demo-dogs whose attentions they caught with the burning of the vines.

***

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Steve repeated as they raced down the tunnels in the direction of the rope. He glanced at the map before guiding the group in the right direction. All the while, Cat's grip on his hand was getting tighter. She was scared that if she let go, everything would go wrong and she'd lose Steve.

Mike, who was at the back of the group, tripped on one of the vines. It wrapped itself around his leg, stopping him from getting back up. "Help! Help! Help! Help!" Mike cried.

Cat rushed back over to him, desperately pulling against the vines. "Steve, help me."

Steve rushed over and crouched down besides Cat. "Hold on."

"Steve, Cat, pull him out." Dustin cried.

"I'm trying." Cat yelled back, using all her strength to pull at the vines.

"Can't you just throw them with your mind like you did to Billy?"

"No!" Cat yelled. "I don't know how to control that!" She turned her attention back to Mike. "Steve, what do we do?!"

"Everybody back!" Steve yelled as he threw his bat down on the vines, setting Mike free. "Guys, we gotta go!" Steve yelled as he pulled Cat up from the ground.

Cat turned around, her face met with that of a Demo-dog. One that was growling at them. Steve pushed the kids behind him, grabbing hold of Cat's hand to make sure she was okay.

"Oh, my God..." Cat whispered, her breathing becoming heavy as her chest heaved up and down.

Dustin pushed past Steve, recognising the Demo-dog. "Dart."

"That's... That's Dart?" Cat asked, struggling to get words out with her uneven breathing. "That's the thing that killed my cat?" She whispered, putting extra emphasis on _'thing'_.

They all spoke over each other, trying to get Dustin to stay back as he inched his way towards Dart. "Shh. Stop." He waved a hand towards the group.

"Dustin, get back."

"That thing ate a cat. It'll eat you too." Cat whisper-yelled at her brother, attempting to pull him away from the creature.

"Trust me, please." He took a few more steps closer to the Demo-dog. "Hey." He knelt down in front of it, nearly giving Cat a heart attack. "It's me, it's me. It's just your friend, it's Dustin."

"I don't want to watch..." Cat whispered to Steve, although she couldn't take her eyes off the scene before her.

"You remember me?" Dustin asked Dart, the creature moving towards the curly-haired boy. "Will you let us pass?"

The Demo-dog snarled in response and Catherine tightened her grip on Steve's jacket (he was holding the baseball bat with both hands, ready to strike if the Demo-dog attacked).

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Dustin apologised to the creature. "I'm sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douche thing to do. You hungry?" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a chocolate bar.

"He's insane." Lucas whispered.

"Uh huh." Cat nodded, agreeing with him.

"Shut up." Steve whispered at them.

"I've got our favourite." Dustin said in regards to the chocolate bar. "See?" He held the wrapper up to the creature. "Nougat." He took the bar out of the wrapper and broke pieces off it, placing them on the ground before the Demo-dog. He waved a hand behind him as the creature ate, signalling for the others to move.

Cat waited for her brother to join them before she continued down the path. She watched him say goodbye to Dart before they followed the others. Cat put an arm around her brother's shoulder as they walked. "I know that was hard. I know you really liked Dart before he turned into a Demogorgon." She sighed. "But, he ate our cat. We can't keep him."

Dustin let out a small laugh as they caught up with the others. He was glad his sister wasn't mad at him anymore for killing her cat.

***

They continued to run, hopping over vines and roots that were there to trip them up. There was a rumbling as they ran, causing the group to fall into each other.

"Jesus!"

"What the hell was that?" Catherine asked Steve as she straightened herself out. She shared a worried look with Steve as they all heard the sound of the monsters roaring. "Oh, crap."

They all turned in the direction they just ran from. "They're coming." Mike said. "Run! Run!" He yelled.

They all yelled over each other as they ran. Turning one more corner, they spotted the rope hanging from the hole.

"There. there!" Lucas yelled.

"Come on!" Mike yelled. "Let's go."

"Go! Go!" Cat screamed, grabbing onto Max's hand to make sure she stayed with the girl. 

Steve reached the rope first, shouting encouragements as he bent down to help the kids climb up to safety. First it was Max, the red-head letting go of Cat's hand to grab the rope. Lucas and Mike were right behind her, Steve lifting them up so they could grab onto the rope. Dustin climbed up to safety, just as the Demo-dogs raced round the corner. Cat clung on tightly to Steve, who wrapped his arms around her waist.

"If we're about to die, there's something I need to say to you." Steve said, leaning his forehead on Cat's.

"What is it?"

"I..." Steve took a deep breath. "I really, really like you."

"I really, really like you too, Steve." Cat grinned.

"No. Not like that..." Steve sighed. The Demo-dogs were so close now. They were going to be trampled.

"Like what?"

"I... I think I love you." He grinned. "Yeah. Catherine Henderson, I think I love you."

Cat smiled up at him. "You're choosing now, over every other opportunity you've had, to confess your feelings for me?" She teased him, her arms still firmly around his waist.

Steve gulped. "Yes."

Cat laughed slightly. "Now? When we're about to be trampled on by a hoard of Demo-dogs and we have the safety of four kids to worry about?"

"But we're always in mortal danger." Steve joked. "When else am I meant to tell you?"

Cat smiled. "Ah, Hawkins." She leaned up on her tiptoes. "There's no place quite like it." And as Catherine Henderson placed her lips upon Steve Harrington's, the hoard of Demo-dogs ran past them, completely ignoring the pair.

***

Steve helped Cat climb up the rope, quickly pulling himself up after her. The two stood by the others, embracing each other. The headlights of the car lit up, blinding the group for a moment before they died down.

But Cat knew what that meant. And as she and Steve held each other, she glanced over to Mike, a wide grin on her face. The two shared a knowing look.

El had done it. She had closed the gate.

"You owe me a new lighter, by the way." Cat whispered to Steve.

He looked down at her and smiled. "I know."

***

**One Month Later**

Cat walked through the woods up to the cabin, making sure to step over the tripwire that was hidden. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Eleven, who immediately wrapped her arms around the older girl.

"You excited for the snowball?" Cat asked as she was led to El's room. Cat placed her bags on the young girl's bed, pulling out a beautiful blue dress. "I brought you a dress. I hope you like it." Cat held it up for her sister to see and El grinned.

"Pretty."

"Yeah." She handed the dress over to the young girl. "Why don't you go and put it on. Then I can do your hair and put a little make-up on you." Cat smiled as El excitedly left to the bathroom.

When El re-entered her room, she had a disheartened look on her face.

"Why do you look so sad?" Cat asked.

"Can't reach the zip."

"Oh, okay." Cat motioned for her to step closer to her. "Come over here. I'll do it up for you." When El was close enough to her, Cat zipped up the back of the dress. "You look very pretty."

"Pretty." El repeated, looking down at her dress."

"Very." Cat nodded. She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller one filled with makeup.

"What's that?" Eleven asked, sitting beside her sister on the bed.

"Make-up." Cat told her, setting out her brushes on the bedside table. "It's to make you look extra pretty." She smiled. "Mike put some on you last year, right? I think I remember him telling me about it and your adventures in the middle school. And someone must have put some on you before you saved us from those Demo-dogs last month. You looked pretty badass."

El nodded. "Bitchin'."

"Yeah." Cat grinned. "Bitchin'." She instructed the young girl to close her eyes before gently brushing some light eyeshadow over her eyelids. Once she was done, Cat moved onto El's hair and styled so it was pinned back, one curl stubbornly staying over her face. "Done." Catherine announced, just as Hopper yelled for them, informing the girls that it was time to go.

***

Steve's car pulled up outside the Middle school. He was dropping Dustin off at the Snowball, before taking Cat on a date.

"All right," he turned to the curly-haired middle schooler in his passenger seat, "buddy, here we are. So, remember, once you get in there..."

Dustin nodded. "Pretend like I don't care."

"You don't care."

"I don't care."

"There you go. You're learning, my friend. You're learning."

Dustin reached up and tilted the rear-view mirror so he could check his hair.

"Hey." Steve reached up, tilting the mirror away.

"What?"

"Come on. You look great, okay? You look... You look great." Steve complimented him. "Okay? Now you're gonna go in there..."

"Yeah."

"Look like a million bucks."

"Yeah."

"And you're gonna slay 'em dead."

"Like a lion." Dustin purred.

Steve cringed slightly. "Yeah, Cat's right. Don't do that, okay?"

"Okay."

Steve held his hand out to Dustin. "Good luck."

Dustin grabbed Steve's hand, the two doing some form of handshake before Dustin climbed out the car and headed inside to the Snowball.

Steve watched him walk in before his eyes began scanning the parking lot, looking for any sign of Catherine. He knew she was going over to help Eleven get ready, so she would be arriving in Hopper's van.

Some minutes later, the Chief's van pulled up and El hopped out, Cat right behind her. Cat thanked Hopper for the lift as El said her goodbyes to her now-dad before the two made their way over to the school hall. Catherine hugged El and watched as she walked through the doors.

Steve climbed out of his car, and walked over to his best friend- now girlfriend. He placed an arm around her. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"We saw each other this morning." Cat reminded him, tearing her gaze away from the kids at the dance to look up at the Steve.

"Yeah, I know."

The two wrapped their arms around and began to sway to the music that was playing.

_if you're lost you can look and you will find me_   
_time after time_   
_if you fall, i will catch you, i'll be waiting_   
_time after time_

Cat's head rested on Steve's chest as they danced.

"You know, I had planned to take you somewhere for our date tonight."

"I like dancing with you better."

_if you're lost you can look and you will find me_   
_time after time_   
_if you fall, i will catch you, i'll be waiting_   
_time after time_

"Steve."

"Yeah?" He looked down at her, leaning his forehead gently on hers.

"I love you." Cat smiled, leaning up to kiss him. Their lips locked and they stayed like that for a few moments.

Steve smiled at her as they pulled away. "I love you too."

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	47. 1967

Dr. Brenner watched as young baby, only a few weeks old, was carried into the one of the experiment rooms. The small baby had been taken from her mother right after birth, the doctors using fake medical excuses to cover the real reason they were keeping the baby.

 _001_ they called her. The first experiment.

She was kept in the lab for a few years, the scientists and doctors experimenting on her.

When _001_ reached two and a half, Dr. Brenner realised that she wasn't giving them the results they desired. So they sent her back to her parents, where they could be reunited as a family, the baby's parents never knowing the truth about their daughter.

It wasn't until some difficult and eventful sixteen years later that _001's_ powers were triggered when she wandered into the Upside Down after her best friend Nancy Wheeler and was later attacked by a Demogorgon. And it wasn't until a whole year later that they started to show, _001_ not knowing what was happening to her or how to control the powers she discovered.

During the summer of 1985, _011_ offered to help teach _001_ how to control her powers in return for _001_ teaching her how to read. But _001_ declined. She didn't want her powers. She didn't want to acknowledge the fact that she had them, and learning how to control them was acknowledging them.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	48. Part Three

** Cast **

Saoirse Ronan as Catherine Henderson

_-the one_ _who tutored_ _in english-_

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

_-the one who slung icecream-_

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

_-the one who spoke some Russian-_

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

_-the one who finally got a girlfriend-_

Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair

_-the one with no phobias-_

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

_-the one who didn't need boys-_

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

_-the one who was pretty cool-_

The rest of the Stranger Things cast as themselves


	49. FORTY FOUR; Suzie, Do You Copy?

_The summer of 1985 was a particular hot one, which wasn't helped by the long trek through the woods that Catherine Henderson had to take each day. She had been tasked with the job of looking after El while Hopper was at work during the day. Cat didn't necessarily think of it as work, she saw it as being able to spend quality time with her newly found sister- which was nice because Dustin Henderson, her younger brother, was currently away at a science camp._

_During the days with El, Mike would often be around and the two lovebirds would sit in El's room for hours. This would leave Cat feeling bored, leading to her spending practically all day on the phone to her boyfriend Steve while he worked at 'Scoops Ahoy' in the new mall. But, on the rare days when Mike wasn't there, Cat would sit with El an teach her how to write. It was this that led to Cat asking Hopper if he would pay her to tutor El, to which he agreed (mainly so she would stop asking him)._

***

It was early evening when Cat left the Hopper cabin and cycled into town to the mall. She had tutored El all day, but decided to leave when Mike arrived. She did not need to see him kissing her sister.

She cycled right up to the mall before hopping off her bike and leaning it on one of the bike racks. Making her way through the mall, she waved at Erica Sinclair and her little of group of friends before rushing into her favourite shop to see her favourite people.

"Hello, favourite person number one." She greeted to the blonde girl behind the counter as she leaned on it.

"Hey there, Cathy." Robin greeted, using her nickname for her newest friend. She handed Cat an ice-cream cone filled with her favourite flavour- chocolate chip.

Cat grinned, taking a lick of the sweet treat. "Thanks Ro. How've you been?"

"Good. It's really boring slinging ice-cream with your dingus boyfriend."

"Mmm, I bet. Speaking of which, is he still in the back?" Cat gestured to the room behind the back window.

"Yeah. He's been talking about you non-stop today. Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that..." Robin rolled her eyes causing Cat to giggle.

"How many times did he tell you about how amazing I am?" Cat asked, moving round to Robin's side of the counter.

"About ten." The blonde teen turned round to serve a customer before turning back to her friend. "He did go on about how badass you were like seven times. Oh, and he called you cool like twenty times for spending your summer tutoring kids."

"Wow." Cat blushed slightly, using her inability to say words as an excuse to have another lick of her ice-cream.

Robin nodded. "You better go see him before he goes crazy from missing you."

Cat laughed and pushed the back door open, causing Steve to look up at her from where he was intently staring at the table. "Miss me?" Cat asked, taking a seat on her boyfriend's lap.

"Of course." Steve smiled, placing a quick kiss on her cheek. "How was El?"

"Great. She's really learning. That is until Mike turns up and they start making out. That's not something I enjoy accidentally walking in on." She pretended to gag before bursting into laughter, which made Steve laugh along with her.

***

Mike, Will, Lucas and Max walked into _'Scoops Ahoy'_ and Mike rang the bell on the counter repeatedly.

"Hey, morons," Robin, who was working the front of the shop, called to the back, "your children are here."

Cat pulled away from Steve, the two pausing their little make-out session. "They're not our children." She yelled back. "And we're not morons."

The two teens untangled themselves and made their way over to the window that separated the backroom from the main shop. Steve pulled it open and sighed. "Again? Seriously?"

The kids stared at the two teens in the back, Max raising her eyebrows at Cat's messy hair, as Mike rang the bell once more.

Cat and Steve led to the kids to the back door, allowing them to sneak through the off-limit corridor.

"I swear, if anybody hears about this-" Steve called after them.

"We're dead!" The young teens all called back, finishing the older teen's sentence.

Cat giggled, fixing her hair. "I think they know, Stevie. You have reminded them a lot this summer."

***

Cat was sat on the back counter by the window, her legs swinging back and forth as she ate a small tub of ice-cream as Steve and Robin served the cold treat to paying customers. She jumped slightly as the mall electrics suddenly cut out and the lights flickered off. It might have been a year since their last adventure with Demogorgons and the Upside Down, but she was still pretty scared of the dark.

"That's weird." Steve commentated as Cat froze in her seat. He went over to the light switch, flicking it up and down to try and turn the lights back on.

"That isn't gonna work, dingus." Robin told him, going over to stand next to Cat.

"Oh, really?" Steve asked, continuing to flick the light switch back and forth really quickly.

Unbeknownst to the three teens in _'Scoops Ahoy'_ , the power hadn't gone out in just the mall. The whole of Hawkins was out.

A few moments without power later, the lights all came back on and everyone resumed their business in Starcourt Mall. Steve hit the light switch one more time, the lights instantly turning back on.

"Let there be light." He shrugged at the girls.

"Wow. Steve. You're such a genius." Cat said to him, sarcasm dripping from her words.

Steve walked over to his girlfriend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which was now healed and no longer hurt. Instead, there lay giant claw marks, of which were slightly faded. "You okay?" Steve asked her, his voice gentle compared to her sarcastic one. "I know how much you dislike the dark."

"I will be." Cat shrugged, eating a small spoonful of ice-cream.

***

The next morning, Cat awoke to Steve shaking her awake. She had spent the night there as her mother had driven up that evening to pick Dustin up from his science camp and she didn't want to be alone after the power cut.

"Kit-Cat, wake up. We're gonna be late."

"What?" Cat grumbled, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"The clocks weren't reset after the power cut. We're gonna be late."

"What's even happening today?" Cat asked, sitting up and covering her hand over her mouth as she let out a yawn.

"Dustin's coming home, remember?" Steve reminded her. "You're meant to let the others into your house so they can surprise him."

"Oh..." She climbed out of bed, finally waking up properly. Her eyes widened as she slipped a fresh t-shirt over her head (she kept some of her clothes in Steve's wardrobe). "Shit."

Hurriedly, the pair raced to get ready, rushing down the stairs and hopping into Steve's car. Steve drove them to her house where she rushed out the car and to her front door where five young teenagers were stood waiting for her. She waved bye to Steve, fumbling with her keys as she unlocked her front door.

"Sorry I'm late." Cat apologised, finally unlocking her door and pushing it open.

"Isn't this your house?" Lucas asked. "How can you be late if this is your house?"

"Because I stayed at Steve's last night and we forgot to reset the clocks after that power outage." She glanced around her house as the teens set everything up. "Unlike my mom who seemed to actually do it."

***

Dustin placed his bag on his bed, letting out a sigh as he sat down next to it. "At least someone's happy I'm home." He said to his turtle. "Catherine's not even here to greet me. She's probably off sucking face with Steve." He sighed again.

Suddenly, one of his robot toys lit up and began talking. It walked across the room, more toys joining it- one of them being a robotic R2-D2. The electronic toys that were on the floor and were able to move, began to leave the room, Dustin following behind them- but not before he grabbed the bottle of Faberge hairspray from his cupboard.

"It's just a dream." He mumbled to himself as he followed the toys down the hall towards the living room, can of hairspray in hand, ready to spray anything who attacked him. "You're dreaming." He told himself. He continued down the hallway towards the living room, passing by the wall where his friends and older sister were hiding.

The teens all shared a look before Cat whispered to El. "Now!"

El opened her eyes, blood dripping from her nose, as she powered down the toys, stopping them in their tracks.

Dustin stood in the entrance to the living room, staring confusedly at the electronic toys. He knelt down by the R2-D2 and picked it up to examine it.

The others crept round the wall silently, grouping together in the living room entrance. Lucas held up the sign as the others prepared to blow the streamers and surprise Dustin. Max held up her fingers and counted down from three.

They blew on the streamers, causing Dustin to scream as he turned around, accidentally spraying the hairspray in Lucas' eye.

"Welcome home, Dustin!" Cat yelled, running over to her brother and pulling him into a giant hug. "I've missed you!"

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	50. FORTY FIVE; Suzie, Do You Copy?

_One of Catherine's favourite things about summer was that she could spend as much time as she wanted with her boyfriend, Steve. Even though had been dating for some time, it still felt surreal to call him that. Her boyfriend._

_When they weren't hanging out in Scoops Ahoy with Robin, or making out in the back, they were spending time with each other at their houses. Although it was mainly Steve's house they hung out at due to it being empty ninety-nine percent of the time._ _It was during one of these times that Cat's secret got out._

_It wasn't really a secret, just a hidden tattoo that she hadn't told anybody about. She had got it done ages ago, using a fake ID she made when she turned fifteen. She had been cliché and got a little daisy tattooed just under her ribs. The daisy was on the right side of her body. On the left side of her body, again, just under her ribs, was a more recent tattoo. This one was a date, super cliche, right?_

_"What's this?" Steve asked, gently touching the daisy that was inked on his girlfriend._

_They had been making out, their shirts had been discarded somewhere on the floor, leaving them topless- although Cat still had her bra on._

_"That? Oh, that's a daisy."_

_"I can see that. I meant... How come you never told me about this?"_

_"Because it's never come up in conversation."_

_"What about this one?" Steve asked, pointing to the date inked on her left._

_"That," Cat grinned at him, "is the day you told me you loved me. The 4th of the 11th 1984." She read it out, although on her skin it looked like 4/11/84._

_They locked eyes and smiled at each other._

_"I'm so in love with you." Steve whispered, leaning down to peck a kiss on Cat's lips._

_"I'm so in love with you, too." Cat smiled, leaning up to kiss him._

***

The group was back together, well, mostly. Max was helping Lucas wash the hairspray out of his eye in the kitchen while the rest of the teens stood around in Dustin's room as he showed them his creations from _'Science Camp'_.

"I call it... the Forever Clock." Dustin held up the invention after carefully removing it from his bag. He demonstrated how it worked. "All right? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse."

"There's not going to be an apocalypse." Cat said, crossing her arms over her chest as her fingers fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. It was brand new, only gifted to her a few days prior by Steve.

"Well, if there ever is one, my inventions will come in handy." Dustin handed the clock to Will before dashing over to his bag and finding something else to show his friends. "Then, I give you... the Slammer." He held it up to his friends, chuckling as he made it work. "Pretty neat, huh?" He handed it to Catherine. She smiled at him, she was bored but happy that her brother had found something to be enthusiastic about. "But this..." Dustin trailed off as he pulled out his next creation, lifting up a huge bag that looked to be very heavy. "This is my masterpiece."

"A bag?" Cat asked sarcastically. "Hasn't that been invented already?" She grinned, setting 'The Slammer' down by her feet.

"No, Kit, its what's the bag." Dustin sat the bag on the carpeted floor as they all crowded round it. He began unzipping it. "I would like you to meet... Cerebro." He looked up at them, a huge grin plastered on his face. Inside the bag seemed to be a lot of pieces that had yet to be put together. It all looked quite complicated to Catherine, who was never really good with technology other than knowing the basics.

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Mike asked, not the only one who was confused.

"An unassembled one-of-a-kind battery-powered radio tower."

Cat's mouth opened in amazement, her lips forming an 'O' shape. "That's pretty cool, Dusty." She grinned.

"So, it's a... a ham radio." Will said.

"The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking North Pole to South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose."

All of their eyes widened. "Girlfriend?" They questioned in sync.

"You have a girlfriend?!" Cat asked, completely shocked, her voice raising in volume. "Since when?!"

Dustin just grinned at them as he nodded.

***

"Wait. so her name is Suzie?" Mike asked as they carried Cerebro down the hallway.

"Suzie with a 'z'. She's from Utah."

"Wow, Dusty." Cat grinned from the back of the group. "You're so grown up. I could cry." She pretended to wipe a fake tear from her eye as she threw an arm around El's shoulder. "Both my siblings are dating. What's next? You both move out and leave me stranded in this town?"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic." Dustin yelled back to her.

"But that's like my entire personality." Cat frowned before bursting into laughter.

"Girls go to science camp?" Will asked.

"I sure as hell didn't." Cat told him.

"Suzie does." Dustin said. "She's a genius."

"Is she cute?" Mike asked.

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter."

"Wow." Cat raised her eyebrows, sharing a look with El.

"What's going on?" Max asked as the group passed by the kitchen.

"Going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend." Will told the two.

"Girlfriend?" Max and Lucas exclaimed, the latter standing up straight and removing his face from under the tap before they both hurried after their friends.

***

In 'Scoops Ahoy', it was Steve's turn to serve ice-cream to customers. He was missing hanging out with Catherine, even though they usually just stayed in the ice-cream parlour while he worked. But he knew she was taking the day to spend time with Dustin after not seeing him for a while.

"Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate." Steve said, handing the ice-cream over the counter to the lady. "That's a buck-twenty-five. Anything else?"

The lady, more like young adult, handed over the money, allowing Steve to read her t-shirt. "Ooh, Purdue. Fancy."

"Yeah, I'm excited." The girl chuckled.

"Yeah, you know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like, you know what? I really need some real-life experience, you know, before I hit college, see what it feels like. Kinda like, uh, I don't know," he shrugged, picking up the change from the cash machine, "see what it's like to earn a working-man's wage, you know? Uh..." The register started beeping loudly and he apologised before continuing his rant. "I think that's like, really important."

"Yeah, totally." The girl agreed, clearly bored and unimpressed.

"Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun. We should kind of like, you know, I don't know, maybe hang out this weekend or-" He dropped the change on the counter as he handed it to the girl. "Oh, sorry about that. Uh... I don't know. Maybe next weekend or-"

"Yeah, I'm busy."

"Oh, that's cool. I'm- I'm working here next weekend, so... the following weekend's better for me."

"No. I'm sorry, I can't." The frizzy-haired girl and her friend started to walk away after thanking Steve for the ice-cream.

"I... This is... my first day here." Steve called after them before sighing. He turned around, his to back to the counter as Robin appered in the window. She held the whiteboard, which read 'You Rule' and 'You Suck'. The two plus Catherine had a bet going on about whether or not Steve could successfully ask a girl out, even though him and Cat were now an item.

"And another one bites the dust." Robin announced, adding another tally mark to the 'You Suck' column, making the score six. "You are oh-for-six, Popeye. Wait till Cathy hears about this." She grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, I can count." Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know that means you suck. And that Cathy'll win the bet."

"Yep, I can read, too."

"Since when?"

"It's this stupid hat." Steve complained, leaning on the counter between him and Robin. "I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature."

"Yeah, company policy is a real drag. And I'm gonna check with Cathy on the whole 'best feature' thing. See if she agrees. You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered... telling the truth? Or, you know, giving up? You've already got a great girlfriend, so why the bet?"

"Oh, you mean, that I couldn't even get into Tech and my douchebag dad's trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour and my girlfriend thinks now that we're together I've lost the ability to charm other women which is why I'm now hitting on like every girl our age? That truth?"

Robin leaned past him, spotting another girl. "Well, if you're still on that bet..."

"What?"

Robin pointed to someone behind the counter. "Twelve o'clock."

Steve glanced behind him to see a group of girls walk in the shop, before turning back to face Robin. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay... Uh... I'm going in. Okay?" He went to step away from the window before he stopped. "And you know what?" He reached up and grabbed the sailors hat they were forced to wear. He chucked it through the window into the backroom. "Screw company policy."

"Oh, my God, you're a whole new man." Robin told him sarcastically.

"Right? Ooh." Steve chuckled and did some weird shoulder movement. "Who's going to win the bet now?" He turned around to the girls waiting behind the counter. "Ahoy, ladies! Didn't see you there." He announced loudly, causing one of the girls to gasp in surprise. "Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavour with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington."

The girls laughed.

"Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons?" Steve continued to ramble on about the variety of flavours.

Meanwhile, in the back, Robin cringed and slid over to the whiteboard where she drew another tally mark under 'You Suck'.

***

The weather was excoriatingly hot as the group of teens made their way up the massively tall hall. It felt like they were climbing a mountain.

"Aren't we high enough?" Lucas asked.

"We've been walking for like, actual hours." Cat complained. She felt bad that she wished she was in 'Scoops Ahoy'. She'd rather watch her boyfriend try and fail at winning their bet than walk another step.

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters." Dustin told them.

"You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones." Max said. She and Cat were helping each other carry one of the many bags of heavy equipment.

"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon."

"Oh, shit." Lucas exclaimed. "She doesn't have electricity?"

"Oh, that's the Amish." Max told him.

"What are Mormons?" Will asked.

"Super religious white people." Dustin answered. "They have electricity and cars and stuff, but... since I'm not Mormon, her parents would never approve. It's all a bit... Shakespearean."

"Shakespearean?" Max questioned.

"Aw, it's like you're Romeo and she's Juliet." Cat smiled. "Let's just hope neither of you end up dead any time soon."

"Hey, guys!" Mike called from the back of the group. The teens further up the hill stopped and turned to face their two star-crossed friends. "This is fun and all, but, uh..." He pointed to his watch.

"I have to go home." El told them.

"Bullshit." Cat muttered.

"We're almost there." Dustin told them, gesturing to the top of the hill.

"Sorry, man." Mike apologised. "Curfew."

"I know your curfew, and it's not this early." Cat yelled down to El, the latter only shrugging in response.

"Come on, let's go." Mike took ahold of his girlfriend's hands and pulled her away.

"Good luck." El called up to the others before walking away, hand in hand with Mike.

"Curfew at 4:00?" Dustin questioned.

"They're lying." Lucas said.

"I know El's curfew and it's surprisingly a lot later than that." Cat informed the younger teens. "And that's only because I negotiated with Hopper about the issue. Otherwise, well, they'd actually be telling the truth."

"It's been like this all summer." Will added.

"It's romantic." Max said.

"It's gross."

"It's bullshit." Dustin complained. "I just got home."

Cat walked over to her younger brother and wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to make him feel better about the situation.

"Well, their loss, right?" Dustin asked the others as they all stared after Mike and El, the two laughing as they ran down the hill. "Onwards and upwards!" He began the rest of their journey up the hill as the others sighed. "Suzie awaits!"

***

They finally made it to the top of the hill, Cat collapsing to the ground. She was so fucking tired.

"Made it." Dustin announced.

"I want to die." Cat muttered, lifting one of her hands in order to shield her eyes from the burning sun. "I feel like I'm going to die."

"Yeah, only took five hours." Max complained as she finally set the bag down at the top of the hill.

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will asked, also exhausted.

"I'm so thirsty." Lucas mumbled, downing the water from the bottle.

"Did you seriously just drink the rest of our water?" Max asked as Lucas looked at her guiltily.

***

The sun was starting to set as they worked together to build Cerebro, Cat pitching in once she'd rested for a few minutes.

"Pretty impressive, right?" Dustin questioned once they had stood a completed Cerebro upright.

"Yeah."

"Now, you ready to meet my love?"

"Okay, sure."

They all sat down around the radio, Cat lying down and resting her head on her hands. Dustin switched the radio on and spoke into the walkie-talkie part of it.

"Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

The only sound emitting from the radio was the sound of static hissing.

"One sec. She's probably... She's still there." He told them before directing his voice into the radio. "Suzie... this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

There was more radio static hissing. But other than that, silence.

"I'm sure she's there. It's just-"

"Uh huh." Cat nodded, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, maybe she's, like, busy or-"

"Yeah."

"It's around dinnertime." Dustin mumbled. The group nodded. "Here."

Dustin spoke into the radio again, attempting to reach out to his girlfriend.

This went on for hours and Cat was drifting in and out of sleep. She barely noticed how the sun had finally set.

"Suzie-" Dustin started, but was cut off by Max.

The fed up redhead was lying on the grass next to Lucas, quite close to where Dustin was standing. "Dustin, come on! She's not there."

"I'm missing date night for this." Cat muttered, braiding a strand of her hair.

"Isn't every night date night with you and Steve?" Lucas asked her.

"No, that's just us spending time together. Tonight we were actually meant to go out to dinner. Like a proper date." Cat let out a sigh as she stared up at the starry night above her.

"She's there, all right?" Dustin protested. "She'll pick up."

"If she hasn't by now, I'm sorry Dusty, but she probably won't." Cat told him, sitting up and leaning back on her hands.

"Maybe Cerebro doesn't work." Will suggested.

"Or maybe Suzie doesn't exist." Lucas suggested.

"She exists!" Dustin defended.

"She's a genius _and_ she's hotter than Phoebe Cates?" Lucas questioned.

"No one is hotter than Phoebe Cates." Cat mumbled.

"No girl is that perfect."

Max sat up in the grass and turned to her boyfriend. "Is that so?"

"I mean..." Lucas sat up. "You're perfect. I mean, like, per- perfect in your own way." He stammered. "In your special- your own special way."

"Nice save." Cat mumbled, throwing a thumbs up at the boy.

Max chuckled. "Relax, I was teasing. I'm obviously perfect and Dustin's obviously lying." She stood up and held her arm out to Lucas. "Come on, Don Juan."

Lucas took her hand and the couple started heading down the hill.

"Where are you going?" Dustin called after them.

"Home."

"Well..." Dustin sighed. "Guess it's just you, Kit and I, Byers."

Will stood up from where he was laying in the grass. "Um... it's late. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow we can play D&D. Or something fun. Like we used to?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Welcome home."

And then there were two. Cat lied back down in the grass.

"I guess it's just you and me, kiddo."

"You're not leaving me?"

"No. Steve will understand and we can reschedule. And, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're home." She closed her eyes, hoping for a moments piece. This, unfortunately for her, did not come. Instead, some sort of noise, different from the static, erupted from the radio.

"Shit." Dustin swore, sitting down in front of the device.

"What's happening?" Cat asked, her eyes shooting open at the foreign sound as she sat up in the grass.

"I don't know." He picked up the communicating device as Cat moved closer to the radio. "Suzie? Suzie, is that you?"

"I... I don't think that's your girlfriend, Dusty..." She listened closer to the radio. "That, that sounds like Russian." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Dustin turned up the volume of the radio as the Russian voice continued.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	51. FORTY SIX; The Mall Rats

_Catherine was super glad that Steve got the job at Scoops Ahoy, not only because they could slowly save up for an apartment together somewhere, but because she gained a new friend through his ice-cream slinging partner- Robin Buckley._

_The two had quickly become really close friends, spending time together outside the mall. There had been many nights when Cat had invited Robin to stay the night at hers so they could have a sleepover. The first few times, Robin had declined but eventually accepted._

_The two layed on Cat's bed in their pyjamas, watching movies all night._

_"We should like, paint our nails." Cat suggested, taking her gaze of the small TV in her room, which was currently playing 'West Side Story', and looking over to Robin._

_"What colours do you have?" Robin asked. She didn't usually paint her nails, but was open to the idea. She was at a sleepover, after all._

_"Oh, I have loads." Cat grinned, climbing off the bed to grab the box of nail polish from her cabinet. "Nancy keeps gifting me the ones she never uses." She placed the box on the bed, opening and sitting crossed legged beside Robin. "You know, we should invite her over next time we have a sleepover."_

_Robin raised an eyebrow. She didn't know this Nancy that her new best friend was talking about_.

_"Oh, c'mon." Cat grinned, picking a colour from the box. "It'll be fun." She opened the light blue nail polish she had chosen, beginning to paint her toes._

_Robin picked up a shade of pink, smiling as she began painting her finger nails._

***

Catherine leant on the doorway of the Hopper cabin, watching as Eleven frantically paced back and forth across the porch. Cat wasn't tutoring El that day, she was just there to hang out as sisters and now the two were waiting with the girl for Mike to show up.

El inhaled sharply, clearly annoyed at her boyfriend for not showing up. She pushed past Cat as she stormed back into the cabin, Cat stepping inside after her.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" Hopper asked the girls as El picked up the phone. Cat shrugged in answer to Hopper's question, watching as El dialled in Mike's number.

"It's 9:32." El said into the phone, walking into her room. "Where are you?"

Cat followed her into the room, shutting the door behind her and taking a seat at the foot of El's bed. She watched as her sister talked to Mike about why he wasn't visiting. From what Catherine could hear, something was wrong with Mike and Nancy's Nana. Cat knew he had to be lying because if their Nana really was sick, Nancy would have rang her.

The phone call ended and El slammed her bedroom door after hanging the phone back on the receiver. She curled up on her bed, resting her head on Cat's shoulder. Cat ran her hand through her sister's hair, which had grown a lot since their last adventure.

"It'll be okay." She whispered, kissing El's forehead gently. "Boys are the worst."

"Even Steve?" El asked, curious if the older girl ever had any problems with her boyfriend.

"Sometimes. Although, most of our problems happened before we started dating." Cat sighed. "Boys at this age are dumb, and they'll probably be like this for a while."

***

"Hi." Dustin greeted Robin at the ice-cream counter.

"Hi." Robin greeted back. She was bored out of her mind.

"I'm Dustin."

"I'm Robin."

"Pleasure to meet you. Uh, is- is he here?"

"Is who here?"

On hearing the familiar voice, Steve burst through the door that sepreated the back of the shop from the ice-cream parlour. "Henderson." He threw his hands up in the air as Dustin laughed. "Henderson!" Steve repeated, jumping up and down as he made his way round the counter. "He's back! He's back!"

"I'm back!" Dustin cried in excitement. "You got the job!"

"I got the job!" Steve yelled, imitating a trumpet as Robin watched the two in utter confusion. She was wishing that Catherine was there to help explain to her what the hell was going on. "Hey! Oh!"

Dustin and Steve went on to do their weird handshake, which included a pretend lightsabre fight.

"How many children are you and Cathy friends with?" Robin asked in disbelief, leaning on the counter.

Steve sighed and just gestured to Robin as if to say, _'see what I have to work with?'_

***

"No, no. No way." Steve and Dustin were sat in one of the booths, Dustin digging into a Banana Boat. "Hotter than Phoebe Cates? No."

Dustin nodded. "Brilliant, too. And she doesn't even care that my real pearls are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth."

Steve wasn't sure what to say. "Wow. Yeah, that's great. Proud of you, man. That's ro- That's kinda romantic. That's like... Wow."

Dustin nodded. "Hm. So do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?" He gestured to the ice-cream.

"Yeah. I mean, sure. It's not really a good idea for me, though. I gotta keep in shape for the ladies..."

"I thought you and my sister were dating?"

"We are. We just have a bet going on. She thinks that now we're together, I've lost my ability to charm other women. So far, she's winning the bet." Steve explained. "So, where are the other knuckleheads?"

"They ditched me yesterday. And Kit's probably hanging out with El today. Her calendar said something about a girls day."

Steve nodded, the information about Cat wasn't new to him as they had talked about it over the phone when she rang him early that morning. "No." He said in disbelief about the others ditching Dustin.

"My first day back. Can you believe that shit?"

"Whoa. Seriously? Did Cat ditch you too?"

Dustin shook his head. "No. Although she did complain about sacrificing her date night with you."

Steve nodded. "Sounds like Catherine. Always being dramatic." He smiled and laughed a little. Cat's tendency to be a little dramatic over everything was one of the things he loved most about her. That, and her smile. Especially when it made her eyes light up.

"They're gonna regret it, tough, big time, when they don't get to share in the Henderson glory."

"Glory? What glory?"

Dustin moved closer to where Steve was sat in the booth. "So, last night, we're trying to get in contact with Suzie..."

"Oh. Mm."

"And, uh..." Dustin raised his hand to cover his mouth so no one could hear what he was saying. "Kit and I intercepted a secret Russian communication." He whispered it so quietly that Steve couldn't even hear what he had said.

"What?"

"Uh..." Still whispering with his hand covering his mouth, Dustin repeated what he had previously said.

Steve still wasn't understanding. "Just speak louder."

This time Dustin did speak loudly, his words silencing the ice-cream parlour for a few moments. "Kit and I intercepted a secret Russian communication!"

"Jeez, shh. Yeah, okay, that's what I thought you said. What- What does that mean?"

"It means, Steve, we could be heroes. True American heroes.

"Huh."

"Mm-hmm?"

"American heroes."

"Just think, Kit will totally love you. Not that she doesn't already. And you could have all the ladies you want and more. Meaning, you could win that bet between you and my sister."

"Win the bet?"

"Yup. You could win the bet."

"I like winning. What's the catch?"

"No catch, I just need your help."

"With what?"

Dustin pulled a 'Russian to English' translation book out of his bag. "Translation."

***

Cat stood next to El as the younger girl stopped Max's skateboard from rolling down the road. The two walked up to the redhead, El carrying the skateboard.

"Hi." El greeted as Cat sent Max a wave.

"Hi?" Max questioned, taking ahold of her board. She was confused as to why El was talking to her, seeing as they had never really gotten along.

"Can we talk?"

***

The three girls were in Max's room, Cat and El sitting on the bed while Max paced.

"And then he said he- he missed me." Eleven finished explaining. Cat was sat next to her, crossed legged as she rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And then he just hung up."

"He's a piece of shit." Max said.

"That's what I said." Cat spoke up.

"What?"

"Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today, and his Nana obviously isn't sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now."

"But friends don't lie." El told her.

"Yeah, well, boyfriends lie. Isn't that right, Cat?"

"Well, yeah. Sometimes." She sighed. "I don't think I'm useful considering I have an ongoing bet with my boyfriend about whether or not he can still ask girls out successfully."

Max sat down on her bed next to El, turning the young brunette to face her. "You're going to stop calling him. You're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" El asked.

"He treated you like garbage. You're gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

"Give him the medicine." El repeated.

"This is how we deal with boys when they're being stupid." Cat told her sister. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Exactly." Max agreed. "And if he doesn't fix this, if he doesn't explain himself, dump his ass." Max stood up from the bed. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To have some fun. You coming Cat?" Max asked the older girl as she dragged El out of her room.

"Of course." Cat grinned, following the two younger girls.

"There's more to life than stupid boys, you know." Max explained. "And I think I need to teach Cat that too, seeing as how she's always with Steve." She teased the older girl.

"Am not!" Cat cried, throwing an arm around each of the girls' shoulders.

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	52. FORTY SEVEN; The Mall Rats

_Robin and Catherine had shared many secrets so far during their friendship but they each had one they were reluctant to share. Robin didn't want her new friend to think of her as a freak and stop hanging out with her. Catherine didn't want to keep her powers a secret from Robin but she had to in order to keep her safe. And, besides, there was no easy way to tell someone you had superpowers that you didn't want- it brought up too many questions._

_Little did either of them know, their secrets would eventually come out and they wouldn't be as bad as they thought everything was going to be._

_Robin's secret came out first. It was during one of their sleepovers and Cat had turned to face her, her legs crossed as a grin spread across her face._

_"So, let's talk."_

_"We are talking."_

_"I mean, let's talk boys."_

_"Oh." Robin wasn't sure how to exactly talk about boys._

_"So, obviously I'm dating Steve and I think I might be in love with him. Is it too soon to say that?" Cat rambled as she flicked through a random fashion magazine._

_Robin shook her head. "I don't think so. Not if you properly mean it."_

_"I do. I really do mean it. I honestly don't think I could ever be with anyone else." She looked up from the magazine and rested her head on her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. "But what about you? Do you like someone?"_

_Robin thought of her crush on Tammy Thompson and couldn't help but blush._

_"You do!" Cat yelled excitedly, throwing her pillow at Robin. "You totally do! So, who is it? Oh, let me guess..." She listed off the names of every boy from Hawkins High that she could think of and Robin shook her head at every one. "Oh, no." Her face fell. "Don't tell me you like Tommy H. He's a complete moron."_

_Robin couldn't help but laugh. "No. Ew. How- Why would I have a crush on him."_

_Cat sighed. "Okay. Good. Is it Steve?" She asked suddenly. "Because I totally get if you liked him. He is really hot and lovely and absolutely amazing."_

_"No," Robin shook her head, "I definitely do not like Steve like that. And, besides, you guys are perfect for each other. No one could mess that up."_

_"So, who do you like? Because everyone that I've suggested hasn't been, and I quote, 'not your type'."_

_"Well," Robin started. She was unsure how Catherine Henderson would take what she was about to say. "Boys aren't really my type." She whispered._

_"Oh. So, girls then?" Cat asked, her face still sporting the grin she wore._

_"Uh, yeah."_

_"That's cool. So, which girl do you like? If you say Carol... Man, she's just as bad as Tommy H."_

_"No, ew, no way would I ever like that bitch." Robin laughed._

_"Robin!" Cat laughed, throwing a cushion over at her best friend._

_"What?! She is completely and utterly evil."_

_"Well, I can agree to that." Cat grinned and held her hand up for a high five._

_Robin completed the high five before she caved in and revealed her crush. "Tammy Thompson."_

_"What about her?"_

_"Are you serious?" Robin laughed, chucking the cushion back at her friend. "You asked me who I liked and I just told you."_

_"Tammy Thompson?" Cat laughed. "You like Tammy Thompson? She's not even that cute."_

_"She so is!"_

_"Nu uh."_

_They ended up arguing about Tammy Thompson for most of the evening until they started laughing till they couldn't breathe._

***

Robin handed the spoon of Peppermint ice-cream to Erica. She ate it before placing the disposable spoon in the pot on the counter. "Can I try the peppermint stick?"

"Haven't you already tried the peppermint stick?" Robin asked her.

"Yes, and I'd like to try it again."

Robin sighed before turning to the window and yelling for her co-worker.

Steve and Dustin were in the back, the former pacing the room while snacking on a banana. They were listening to the recording of the man speaking Russian.

Dustin stopped the recording. "So what do you think?"

"It sounded familiar."

"What?"

"The music." The older boy said through a mouthful of food. "The music right there at the end."

"Why are you listening to the music, Steve?" Dustin yelled. "God, Kit would be more helpful than you." He muttered. "Listen to the Russian!" He yelled. "We're translating Russian!"

"I'm trying to listen to the Russian, but there's music-"

Robin burst through the door, cutting off the end of Steve's argument. "all right, babysitting time is over. You need to get in there." She waved her scooper in the direction of the main floor of the shop. "Hey, my board." She moaned, seeing that they'd exchanged her chart for some kind of alphabet. "That was important data, shitbirds."

"I guarantee you, what we're doing is way more important than your data." Dustin told her.

"Yeah?" Robin questioned, standing across the table from the boys. "And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways?"

"How does she know about the Russians?"

"I don't know."

"You told her about-"

"It wasn't me."

"Hello, I can hear you." Robin said, interrupting their whispering. "Actually, I can hear everything. You are both extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you're trying to translate, but haven't figured out a single word because you didn't realise Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do." She stared at them. "Sound about right?"

Suddenly, Robin reached over to grab the tape recorder on the table. Steve quickly grabbed it, pulling it out of her reach. "Whoa! What do you think you're doing?"

"I wanna hear it."

"Why?" Both the boys asked.

"'Cause maybe I can help. I'm fluent in four languages, you know."

"Russian?" Dustin asked.

" _Ou-yay are-yay umb-day_."

Steve laughed. "Oh-ho-ho!"

"Holy shit!" Grinned Dustin.

"That was Pig Latin, dingus."

Steve slapped Dustin in the arm. "Idiot," he muttered.

"But I can speak Spanish," Robin confessed, taking a seat in the spare chair at the table, "and French and Italian, and I've been in band for twelve years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me."

"Uh..." Steve was still hesitant to agree.

"Come on, it's your turn to sling ice-cream, my turn to translate. I don't even want credit. I'm just bored." She slumped across the table, her hand reaching out for the tape recorder. The sound of the bell being dinged sounded, meaning someone was waiting.

Steve handed her the tape recorder as he took the ice-cream scooper, finally caving in.

***

The bus pulled up to the mall and the girls hopped off it. Cat slung her arm around El's shoulder, looking at the younger girl's face in order to try and gage how she was feeling.

"So, what do you think?" Max asked. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked when El gave no reply.

"Too many people. Against the rules."

Cat gave El's shoulder a small squeeze. "Screw the rules. We're here to have fun. You'll be fine."

"Exactly." Max grinned, taking hold of El's right hand. "You have superpowers. What's the worst that could happen?"

The two girls led El into the center of the mall, Cat grinning as looked around in wonder.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" She laughed. "This is where I spend my time when I'm not hanging out with you."

"So, what should we do first?" Max asked. El just stared at her in wonder. The redhead laughed, "You've never been shopping before, have you?" El shook her head. "Well, then I guess we're just gonna have to try everything." Max's eyes widened in excitement before she dragged her friends into 'The Gap'.

They followed Eleven around as she looked at all the different clothes.

"Do you like that?" Cat asked as they stared at a mannequin wearing a colourful top.

"How do I know... what I like?"

"You try things on." Cat told her. "'Till you find something that feels like you."

"Like me?" El asked, confused.

"Yeah." Max smiled. "Not Hopper. Not Mike. You."

***

The girls helped El try on a lot of outfits while they were in 'The Gap'. Cat loved how all of them looked on El. While El was finding new outfits, Max tried on different pairs of sunglasses- finally settling on a pair of red ones. Cat tried on what seemed like a hundred different bandanas before choosing a red and white one.

Cat paid for El's new playsuit, which was extremely colourful, along with her own bandana and Max's new sunglasses. They sauntered through the mall, smiling and giggling, happy with their new looks.

The next place they went to was a flash studio where they tried on different outfits and posed for pictures in front of a super colourful background.

They went to a shoe shop, El trying on a pair of high heels. she held on to Max and Cat's hands as she walked through the shop, the three laughing when El fell- taking Cat to the ground with her.

They even had fun with El's powers- exploding the drinks of the girls who glared at them in the shoe shop.

It was one of the best days Catherine had ever experienced.

"See? What'd I tell you?" Max exclaimed as they ran through the mall. "There's more to life than stupid boys."

They ran in to 'Scoops Ahoy', giggling as they caught their breath.

***

"Wait, that last part, just one more time." Robin instructed Dustin. The two were still trying to translate the recording while Steve slung ice-cream out front.

"Okay." Dustin rewound the tape recording before pressing play.

"Okay, that word." Robin stopped pacing. "Um.. It's pronounced... 'dly-nna-ya.'"

"Dly-nna-ya..." Dustin repeated.

"Which is spelled..." The two swapped places, Dustin going over to the whiteboard while Robin took the chair. "D... D, D, D..."

"The- The chair." Dustin cried, pointing to the letter on the board. "The chair-looking thingy."

"Yeah, okay." Robin grinned, writing it down. She walked over to the window, sliding it open to speak to Steve. "We've got or first sentence."

"Oh, seriously?" Steve turned away from the counter and towards Robin.

"Yeah." Robin imitated a Russian accent. "'The week is long.'"

"Well, that's thrilling." Steve said sarcastically.

"I know. But, progress." She slid the window shut and Steve went back to serving El, Max and Catherine their ice-creams.

"And here is where I leave you." Cat told the two girls, pulling them into a hug.

"Wait a second. Are you even allowed to be here?" Steve asked El as Cat joined him round the employee side of the counter. The two girls giggled before running out the shop.

"Yeah, technically I'm on babysitting duty today so she's allowed." Cat smiled at Steve, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. "So," she took a lick of her ice-cream, "what've I missed?"

***

_Edited: 08/07/2020_


	53. FORTY EIGHT; The Mall Rats

El and Max walked out of the mall, ice-creams in hand. They'd finally become friends, after some bonding time together as they shopped, and they'd had a good time in the mall- hanging out with each other and Catherine.

"You wanna trade?" Max asked, the two swapping ice-creams. "Oh, you've got to be shitting me." Max's face fell as she turned to face the familiar voice. The girls turned around to be faced with the boys. "Isn't this a nice surprise." She said, heavy sarcasm lacing her voice as she and El walked up to the boys.

Mike dropped his bike and lifted a finger to point at El. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping." El told him, keeping her answer short.

"This is her new style." Max said. "What do you think?"

"What's wrong with you? You know she's not allowed to be here."

"What is she, your little pet?"

"Yeah. Am I your pet?" El asked.

"What? No!"

"Then why do you treat me like garbage?"

"What?"

"You said Nana was sick."

"She is." Mike lied. "She is. She is sick." He gestured for Lucas to back him up.

"Yeah, sick- she's sick. She's super sick." Lucas said. "That's why we're here, actually."

"Yeah, we're shopping." Mike added. "Not for us, but for her, for Nana."

"For Nana." Lucas reiterated.

"Also, we're here to get a gift for you." Mike added, gesturing to El. "Just, we couldn't find anything that suited you and I only have, like, $3.50, so it's hard."

"Super hard." Lucas said. "It's- It's expensive."

"You lie." El said to Mike, her features sad. "Why do you lie?" She and Max looked behind them as the bus pulled up, before turning their attention back to the boys. El took a few steps closer so she was almost in Mike's face. "I dump your ass."

Max's mouth opened in shook before she followed El onto the bus. They laughed as they took their seats and sharing a high-five.

"Now can we play D&D?" Will asked.

"No."

***

Hours had passed and the mall was now empty. The shops had all been locked up for the night, except one. Steve, Dustin, Robin and Catherine were still in the backroom of 'Scoops Ahoy', the latter having been caught up on everything to do with the Russian communication she had heard the evening before.

"'The week is long, the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west.'" They read off the whiteboard, having finally translated most of it.

***

"I mean, it just..." Steve started saying as he locked up the front of the shop, "it just can't be right."

"It's right." Robin said as she and Catherine started walking through the deserted mall, their arms linked.

"Honestly, I think it's great news." Dustin said, walking along the other side of Robin.

"How is this great news?" Steve asked, catching up with them and taking Cat's free hand into his own. He chuckled. "I mean, so much for being American heroes."

Cat looked up at him. "What's this about being American heroes?"

"I'll tell you later." Steve muttered, before speaking at his normal volume. "It's total nonsense."

"It's not nonsense." Dustin disagreed. "It's too specific. It's obviously a code."

"What do you mean a code?"

"Like a super secret spy code."

"That's a total stretch."

"I don't know, is it?" Robin asked, swinging hers and Cat's arms as they walked.

"You're buying into this?" Steve asked before glancing down to his girlfriend. "Are you also believing this?"

Cat shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Listen," Robin said, "just for kicks, let's entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What'd you think they were gonna say, 'Fire the warhead at noon'?"

Cat nodded. "Robin does have a point."

"And my translation is correct." Robin added. "I know that for sure, so...'The silver cat feeds.' Why would anyone talk like that unless they were trying to mask the true meaning of their message?"

"Exactly."

"And why would anyone mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?" Robin added. "So I guess that confirms your suspicion."

"Evil Russians." Cat and Dustin said at the same time.

"I can't believe I'm about to agree with this strange child- no offense Cathy- but, yeah, totally evil Russians."

"So how do we crack the code?" Cat asked, unhooking her arm from Robin and dropping Steve's hand so she could fix the bandana on her head.

"Well, I guess we translate the rest and hopefully a pattern emerges." Robin answered.

"A pattern. Right, like maybe 'silver cat' is a meeting place?" Dustin suggested.

"Or a person." Cat said.

"Or a weapon." Dustin added.

"I really hope it isn't a weapon. For our sakes anyway." Cat said quietly.

"It's probably gonna take a super genius to crack it, but..." Robin stopped walking, looking around her. "Where's Steve?"

Cat spun around. "Steve?" She asked when she saw her boyfriend crouched down by the small horse ride. "What are you doing?"

Steve was going through his pockets, pulling out all the change he had. "Uh, it's a quarter. I need- Honey, do you have a quarter?"

Cat walked over to him, laughing slightly. "You're lucky I didn't give all my change to El and Max this afternoon. Here," she pulled a couple of quarters out of her pocket and handed them to her boyfriend, who, for one, was actually smaller than her.

"Sure you're tall enough for that ride?" Robin teased as she and Dustin walked over to the couple.

Steve inserted one of the coins into the machine and they watched as the horse began to move.

"Oh, these rides were always my favourite..." Cat said dreamily, sitting down on the floor next to Steve and leaning her head on his shoulder. She began absent-mindly humming along to the music.

"You need help getting up, little Stevie?"

Steve 'shhed' both of the girls, placing a hand over Cat's mouth to stop her humming. Dustin chuckled as Catherine pushed Steve's hand away.

"Would you three just shut up and listen?"

"I am listening." Cat mumbled.

They were silent for a few moments, just listening to the music playing from the ride.

"Holy shit." Dustin said in realisation as Cat's eyes widened.

"Oh, my God." She muttered, finally on the same wave-length as her boyfriend.

"The music." The two siblings said in sync as Dustin took his backpack off, placing it on the ground. Dustin unzipped his bag and Cat grabbed the tape recorder, pressing 'play'. The recording began to play, and in the background was the same music as the one playing from the 'Indiana Flyer'.

"I don't understand." Robin admitted.

"It's the exact same song on the recording." Dustin explained.

"Maybe they have horses like this in Russia." She gestured to the horse they were all crowded around.

"'Indiana Flyer'?" Steve questioned. "I don't... I don't think so. This code, it... didn't come from Russia." He looked up at Robin and then at his girlfriend.

"It came from here..." Cat muttered, slightly scared as to what that would mean for them.

***

_Edited: 10/07/2020_


	54. FORTY NINE; The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard

Max was dancing in El's bedroom, using a hairbrush as a microphone as she sung along to the song that was playing on the radio. Eleven was looking at the posters in the magazine she was flicking through.

Max chuckled as she leaned over El's shoulder. "Oh, you found Ralph Macchio."

"Macchio?" El questioned.

"Yeah, he's the Karate Kid." She pretended to do a karate move, nearly hitting El but stopping before she did. The two laughed. "He's so hot, right? I bet he's an amazing kisser, too."

El's eyes widened as she raised her eyebrows.

"Hey, uh..." Max hopped onto the bed, sitting opposite her friend, "is Mike a good kisser?"

"I don't know. He's my first boyfriend."

Max tilted her head slightly. "Ex-boyfriend." She corrected. "Hey, don't worry about it. Okay? He'll come crawling back to you in no time, begging for forgiveness. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are, like, totally wallowing in self-pity and misery right now. They're like," She imitated their voices, "'Oh, I hope they take us back.'"

The two girls burst into laughter.

"God, what I wouldn't give to see their stupid faces." She looked at El, who looked like she was about to say something. "What is it?" El grinned.

***

"Is this really gonna work?" Max asked, sitting on the bed.

El was sat on the floor by the radio which was crackling static. She tied the blindfold around her head, covering her eyes. Eleven nodded.

"Holy shit," Max grinned, "this is insane."

"Max." El warned.

"Yeah, quiet. I'm sorry."

El focused really hard until she found herself in the void. Ahead of her were the boys in Mike's basement.

"I see them." She told Max.

The redheaded girl moved off the bed and over to where El sat on the floor. "What are they doing?"

"Eating." El answered. In the void, she walked closer to where Mike was sprawled out on the couch, shovelling crisps in his mouth. She listened to the conversation between Mike and Lucas for a few moments before reporting to Max about what they were saying. "They say we are 'species.'"

"What?"

"'Emotion, not logic'."

"What?" Max repeated, her eyes wide.

El ripped the blindfold away from her face.

"What happened?" Max asked her.

El didn't say anything as she burst out into giggles, causing Max to start laughing- although she was confused as to what was so funny.

***

Erica furiously dinged the bell on the Scoops Ahoy counter, desperate to gain the attention of the two girls behind the counter. Robin and Cat were both busy reading up on translating Russian, the headphones over their ears blocking out their surroundings as they listened to the code over and over.

Eventually, after a few minutes of persistently ringing the bell, Erica caught Catherine's attention. The brunette looked up to see Erica sarcastically smiling at her. The teen sighed and tapped Robin's shoulder.

"Customer." Cat mouthed, pointing towards Erica.

Robin sighed, taking her earphones away from her ears and turned towards the counter.

Erica smiled at the two teens. "I'd like to try the peanut butter chocolate swirl, please."

"No." Robin said as Cat went back to the book. "No more samples today."

"Why not?"

"Because you're abusing our company policy." Robin explained.

"Where's the sailor man?" Erica asked.

"Sorry, he can't help you." Robin turned back to the window.

"Yeah, he's very busy right now." Cat said, closing the book and hoping up onto the counter. She sat so she was sitting cross-legged, her elbows resting on her knees as she rested her head in her hands.

"Busy with what?" Erica asked.

Cat and Robin shared a look before facing Erica. "Spycraft."

***

"You see anything?" Dustin asked Steve who was scanning the mall through a pair of binoculars. The two were hidden, not very well, behind a row of bushes in the middle of the mall.

"Uh, I guess I don't totally know what I'm looking for." Steve answered.

"Evil Russians."

"Yeah, exactly. I don't know what an evil Russian looks like."

"Tall, blonde, not smiling."

Steve hummed in response as he scanned the mall, his gaze occasionally floating over to where his girlfriend sat with Robin in Scoops Ahoy.

"Also, look for earpieces," Dustin added, camo, duffel bags, that sort of thing."

"Right, okay, duffel bags." Steve confirmed, his eyes fixing on a particular pair of people. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He muttered.

"What?"

"Anna Jacobi's talking with that meathead Mark Lewinsky."

"Dude, if you're not gonna focus, just gimme the binoculars." Dustin scolded.

"Aw, Jesus Christ," Steve continued staring at the two teens, "whatever happened to standards? I mean, Lewinsky never even came off the bench."

"Dude, you are the worst spy in history, you know that?" Dustin told him. "Hell, Kit's better than you." He reached over and grabbed the binoculars, pulling them away from Steve.

"Stop, hey. Stop." Steve complained, taking the safety string off from around his neck so Dustin didn't accidentally strangle him while taking the binoculars.

"Give me those." Dustin said, lifting the binoculars to his eyes so he could look out for any evil Russians. "I don't even get why you're looking at girls. You have the perfect one in front of you."

"Catherine, yeah I know."

"Yeah, my sister. You two are perfect, so, what the heck?"

"I told you before, we have a bet going on."

"Well it's a stupid bet." Dustin told him simply. "You two should be more like me and Suzie. We don't need some stupid bet to prove our love."

"Oh, Suzie. Yeah, you mean, 'hotter than Phoebe Cates.' Yeah, that Suzie. And, uh, let's think about how exactly did you score that beautiful girlfriend? Oh, yeah. With my advice. Because that's how this works, Henderson. I give you the advice, you follow through. Not the other way around, all right, pea-brain?"

"I hope you two are being nice." Catherine said, scaring the two boys as she sat down in between them. She threw an arm around each of their shoulders. "Seen any evil Russians yet?"

"No." Dustin answered, sounding disappointed. He handed the binoculars over to Cat so she could have a turn with them.

***

Dustin, who was now the one with the binoculars, scanned the mall. His eyes landed on a man, a man who matched who matched Dustin's previous description of an evil Russian.

"Target acquired." He spoke, catching the attention of Steve and Catherine.

"Where?" Steve asked as both him and Cat glanced around the mall.

"Ten o'clock. Sam Goody's."

Cat's eyes scanned the area. "I don't see him." She frowned. "Dusty, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Give me that." Steve took the binoculars, finally spotting the subject. "Shit." He muttered, pointing the blonde man out to his girlfriend. "Duffel bag." He observed.

Both Steve and Dustin turned to each other. "Evil Russian."

"You think that's what an evil Russian looks like?" Cat asked, giggling slightly, although stopping when she noticed how serious they both were. "Oh, shit."

They followed the 'Evil Russian' through the mall, Steve pulling Catherine along behind him as they ran up the escalators after Dustin.

"Slow down." Dustin told Steve as they pushed through groups of people.

"We're losing him." Steve answered, still hand-in-hand with Catherine.

"No we're not." Cat told her boyfriend. "We can still see him, can't we?"

"You're getting too close." Dustin told Steve.

Suddenly, the 'Evil Russian' turned around, obviously noticing the three suspiciously following him. Dustin picked up the nearest phone and spoke into it, while Steve pulled Cat out of the stream of people and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her.

After a few seconds, Cat pulled away, grinning at Steve.

"Wow." She cleared her throat. "That was, um, sudden."

"Well, I had to make him think we weren't following him."

"Uh huh." Cat nodded, still smiling. "Well, I think you should kiss me like that again."

Steve grinned down at her, smirking slightly. "I think I should, too." He leaned down to kiss her again but was interrupted by Dustin.

"Guys, c'mon."

Reluctantly, the couple followed Dustin and the three of them hid behind a pole. They watched as the man walked into a jazzercize class and begun teaching the ladies that were waiting.

"You've got to be kidding me." Cat muttered.

***

Robin read the code to herself, trying to make heads or tails of it. "'The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. A trip to china sounds nice if you tread lightly.'" She took a sip of her milkshake. "'Tread lightly'?" She picked up the 'Russian-English' translation book and skimmed through it. A nocking came from the delivery entrance in the backroom. Robin sighed, taking off the earphones and putting the book down before sliding off the counter through the window and crossing the room to the door.

"Delivery for you." The man said.

Robin thanked him and carried the box to the table before returning to the door. She signed for the parcel before her gaze landed on the company name that was written on the delivery man's shirt and hat. As the man walked down the back hallway, she ran out the door and stared at the logo on the back of his uniform.

"Silver cat." She said to herself in realisation. "Silver cat."

***

"Ro, you're not gonna believe who these two idiots thought was a Russian." Cat said, skipping into the ice-cream parlour and pointing a finger in the direction of her boyfriend and younger brother.

Robin ran straight past them, Cat following quickly behind her. "Robin?" She asked as her best friend stood on one of the low walls surrounding a plant feature, centred in the middle of the mall.

"'A trip to China sounds nice.'" Robin muttered, looking around at all the shops. "A trip to China sounds nice." She repeated, her eyes landing on 'Imperial Panda'. "A trip to China sounds nice." She repeated one more time.

Cat followed Robin's gazed as she climbed up next to the dirty blonde. They both looked down at the notebook Robin was holding, reading out the next line of the code.

"'If you tread lightly.'"

They looked around until Cat's eyes landed on 'Kaufman Shoes'. "There." She yelled, catching the attention of the people around her as she pointed to the shoe store. "Kaufman Shoes." She told Robin.

"If you tread lightly." They both said in realisation, sharing a look before trying to figure out the next line.

"When- When blue and yellow meet in the west." Robin read and the girls started to look around the mall for something that fitted the clue. Robin's eyes fell on the clock which had one blue and one yellow hand. "There." She tapped Cat on the shoulder and pointed at the clock.

"Robin, Cat." Steve said to gain their attention as he and Dustin walked over to them. "What are you doing?"

"She cracked it." Cat grinned.

"Cracked what?"

The two girls hopped down off the ledge they had been standing on.

"I- we," Robin looked over to Catherine, "cracked the code."

"Mainly Robin, though." Cat whispered, not wanting to take the achievement away from her friend.

***

"Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes." Robin instructed the boys, yelling to be heard over the rain.

The four of them were crouched on the roof of the mall, watching in the pouring rain as a truck pulled up to the delivery entrance to the mall.

"It's fucking freezing." Cat cursed, pulling her thin coat closer to her body. Not that it did much anyway considering she was already soaked through. 

Steve ran a hand through his hair as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, pulling her closer to him in hopes of trying to keep her warm- or as warm as they could possibly be during a storm.

"They're with that whistling guy, ten o'clock." Dustin told them, looking through his binoculars as the guy in question appeared in his vision.

Cat squinted, finding it very difficult to see through the heavy rain. "The guy with the bright yellow coat?" She asked.

"That's the one." Dustin confirmed.

"What do you think's in there?" Steve asked.

"Guns, bombs?" Dustin suggested.

"I hope not." Cat said, wiping the rain from her face.

"Chemical weapons?" Robin suggested.

"Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth." Dustin informed the others, having spotted a couple of heavy built guys holding massive guns.

Cat jumped at the sound of thunder, moving even closer to Steve who tightened the grip he had around her.

"Great." Steve muttered. "That's great."

They watched as two metal doors opened to reveal a room with more boxes stacked onto shelves. The guy in the yellow coat wheeled the boxes into the room.

"Hey," Robin yelled, her voice startling Catherine. "What's in there?"

"It's just more boxes." Dustin yelled, still looking through the binoculars.

"Let me check it out." Steve said, reaching for the binoculars.

"No. I'm still looking." Dustin protested, trying to pull the binoculars out of Steve's grip.

"Lemme see it." Steve tried to pull them from the younger boy's hands.

"Hang on!" Dustin yanked them out of Steve's grip and in the process they collided with the raised bit of roof they were crouching behind, causing a loud thud.

The four quickly ducked down, Cat hiding her face in Steve's chest- which was soaking from the rain. Her hand reached over towards Robin, her fingers gripping tightly onto the girl's hand.

***

"Well, I think we found your Russians." Robin stated as the group walked as fast as they could through the corridors of the mall.

Cat tried to slow her breathing, her fingers gripping tightly around Steve's hand. "Indeed we have." She breathed out, glancing nervously to her right as she walked alongside her friends (and boyfriend).

***

_Edited: 10/07/2020_


	55. FIFTY; The Sauna Test

That evening, Cat had suggested that they all stayed over at Steve's. She figured it would be easier as it was too late for the others to cycle to their own homes.

When they arrived at the Harrington's household, Cat went straight for the phone. She dialled in the number and tapped her foot impatiently while it rang.

_"Hello?"_

Catherine let out a sigh of relief. "Mom? Hi, it's me."

_"Oh, hello dear. You're out late."_

"Yeah, Steve had to stay late at work..." She hated lying to her mother, but she couldn't say that they were spying on Russians.

_"Is Dusty with you?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, we're staying the night at Steve's. I hope you don't mind. I just thought I'd call and let you know."

 _"That's fine, dear."_ Cat could hear her mom take a deep breath. _"Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about."_

Catherine's eyebrows immediately furrowed as her mind thought of the worst. "Wh- what is it?" The words seemed to get stuck in her throat.

_"I have to go out of town for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. So I'm going to miss-"_

Cat cut her off, her face falling. "-Dad's anniversary..."

"What about Dad's anniversary?" Dustin asked. He had been eavesdropping on his sister's phone call.

Cat waved a hand at him. Everyone who knew her knew that when she did that it meant she'd tell them something later.

"But you never miss Dad's anniversary." Cat frowned, turning away from Dustin.

_"I know, Sweetie. But I can't get out of this job trip. It's very important. I need you to understand that."_

"I do. I do understand. But, can't you just, go after?"

_"I'm sorry, Sweetheart."_

Cat could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffled, pulling her sleeve over her hand and using it to wipe her face.

_"I'm gonna need you take real good care of your brother, okay?"_

Cat nodded, forgetting that her mom couldn't see her.

_"Can you do that for me?"_

"Yeah... Yeah, I can do that. Of- of course I'll take care of Dustin."

_"And Steve's welcome to stay over while I'm away to help you. Just no funny business."_

Cat giggled slightly. "Of course."

The mother and daughter exchanged 'goodbyes' and 'I love yous' before they hung up and Cat put the phone back on the receiver.

"You okay?" Dustin asked as Cat turned back around to face him. "What was that about?"

"Mum's going away for work." Cat mumbled, walking into the living room and curling into a ball on the couch.

"How long?" Dustin took a seat next to her.

"A few days." Cat glanced over to her brother, blinking to try and stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. "But she said it could be a few weeks."

"Did she say where it was?"

Cat shook her head and it finally hit Dustin.

"She's going to miss Dad's anniversary."

It was at that moment that Steve and Robin walked in, each carrying a couple of glasses and bowls of snacks. They placed them on the coffee table before taking seats on the couches. Steve sat next to Catherine, wrapping his arm around her, while Robin sat the other side of Dustin.

"I thought we could watch your favourite." Steve grinned, holding up the film and looking at Catherine. "What's wrong?"

"Mom's missing Dad's anniversary." Dustin explained.

Steve's lips parted in an 'O' shape.

"She never misses it." Cat muttered, leaning forward to pick up one of the glasses from the table. She took a sip, tasting the fizziness of the cola.

"What day is it?" Robin asked. She didn't really know anything about the siblings' father. Cat had only told her that he was no longer around, she hadn't gone into anymore detail than that.

"July 4th." Cat mumbled.

Robin nodded.

"Do you want to talk about?" Steve asked, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"No."

"Well, we're here if you do." Robin told her, leaning over the boys to pat Cat's knee as comfortingly as she could.

"Let's just watch the film." Cat said, pushing Steve in the direction of the video player.

***

 _"Do you copy?"_ Lucas' voice came through the radio that was lying on a bed of comics on Max's bedroom floor. _"This is a code red. I repeat, this is a code red. Max. Do you copy?"_

Max scoffed as she leaned over the side of her bed and picked up the electronic object. "Shut... up." Irritated, she slammed the antenna down, switched off the radio and threw it back on her floor. 

The two girls tiredly laid back down and pulled the covers over themselves. Until the phone rang.

"You've got to be kidding me." Max scoffed, throwing the covers off of her body and storming across the room to the phone. "I'm sleeping. Go away." She said into the receiver.

 _"This is Mike. Do not hang up."_ Hesitantly, Max kept the phone by her ear. _"Something happened, something bad. Our very lives can be at stake."_

"What are you talking about?" Max asked the tall Wheeler boy.

_"Just come over to my house. We'll explain everything."_

"What?"

 _"Hurry."_ Mike hung up the phone and Max slowly placed hers on down.

"What did he say?" El asked, still lying under the covers on the bed.

Max wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't sure herself what was going on.

***

"That keycard opens the door," Dustin began explaining the things he'd learnt from scouting the delivery entrance from the roof. "But, unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun. Whatever's in this room, whatever's in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it."

"But there's gotta be a way in." Robin said.

Steve, who had been fiddling with his sailors hat, placed the hat on Cat's head. "Well, you know..." He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Cat's waist as she was sat on his lap. "I could just take him out."

"No." Cat simply said.

"Take who out?" Robin asked.

"The Russian guard."

"No. Absolutely not." Catherine protested.

"Why not?" He sent a questioning look at his girlfriend before explaining his plan. "I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy."

"No fucking way. You'll get yourself killed."

"I'll be fine." Steve reassured.

"Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin asked him.

"Cat could deal with that."

"Excuse me?!" Cat's voiced went up a couple of pitches.

"How is Cathy meant to deal with the massive gun? She's way smaller than you- no offense."

Catherine shook her head, twisting her body to look Steve in the eye. "Are you mad?"

"You've got these weird powers. You could just..." He waved his hands about, miming her 'telepathy' to make the gun fly out of the guard's arms.

"No." Cat protested.

"Wait, what powers?" Robin asked.

"It's a long story." Cat looked over to her. "In short, apparently I was a lab experiment or something." She turned back to Steve. "Look. I'm not using them. You know how I feel about that. Besides, I have no idea how to control them."

"You could learn?" Robin suggested, still shocked about the new information she'd just learnt.

"Don't want to." Cat shook her head, leaning back into Steve's chest.

"Please, Steve, tell me this, and be honest, have you ever actually... won a fight?" Dustin asked, looking down at the older teen from his standing position near the window.

"Okay, that was one time-"

Cat coughed. "Twice."

"Whose side are you on?" Steve asked, acting offended.

"Kit's right. Jonathan. Year prior?"

"Listen, that doesn't count."

"I think it does." Cat said, ruffling her boyfriend's hair. "Sorry, babe."

"Why wouldn't it count?" Dustin fired back at Steve. "Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you."

"It was-" Steve started.

"Babe, you got a fat lip, crooked nose, a swollen eye. There was a lot of blood... I was there, remember?"

"Yeah, but you were busy beating the crap outta Tommy H."

Robin tuned out their conversation, her eyes fixed on the vent that was placed up high on the wall. "That just might work." She muttered, an idea forming in her head. She stood up from her chair, Cat rushing behind her as she sped out through the door.

"Ro, where're you going?"

The blonde grabbed the money from the tip jar.

"Robin." Steve said, walking out the back room to stand next to his girlfriend- Dustin following behind him. "Hey, Robin! Hey, what- what are you doing?"

"I need cash." She explained, walking backwards out the store.

"Well half of that's mine." Steve complained. "Where're you going?"

"To find a way into that room. A safe way. And, in the meantime, sling ice-cream, behave, and don't get beat up. I'll be back in a jiff." Robin yelled to them before running out sight and out of the mall.

Catherine sent a mock salute in the girl's direction before grabbing the scooper from Steve's pocket and making herself an ice-cream cone.

***

"I didn't think it was anything at first." Will said to his friends. The group of teens- bar Dustin- were listening to Will talk about the Mind Flayer coming back. "I mean, I think I just didnt want to believe it. The first time I felt it was at _Day of the Dead_."

"Power went out that night, too." Mike added.

"And then I felt it again at the field near the Nelson farm the next day." Will continued. "Then again yesterday outside Castle Byers."

"What does it feel like?" Max asked.

"It's almost like... You know when you drop on a roller coaster?"

The group nodded. Except for El as she had never experienced an amusement park.

"It's like... everything inside your body is just sinking all at once, but... this is worse. Your body... it goes cold and- and you can't breathe." He paused. "I've felt it before, whenever he was close."

"Whenever who was close?" Max asked, confused.

"The Mind Flayer."

"I closed the gate." El told him.

"I know, but... what if he never left?" Will turned his head to look at El. "What if we locked him out here with us?"

***

Will slammed a piece of paper down onto the table and begun drawing a black shape with a crayon. "This is him. All of him. But, that day on the field, a part of him attached itself to me." He wiped his hand over the drawing, leaving crayon over his hand. "My mom got it out of me... and Eleven closed the gate." He turned the paper over. "But the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world?" He put his hand on the paper, leaving his crayon handprint. "In Hawkins."

"I don't understand." Max said. "The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"We can't take any chances." Mike said. "We need to assume the worst. The Mind Flayer's back."

"Yeah. And if he is," Will started, "he'd want to attach himself to someone again. A new me."

"A new host." Lucas said.

Max's eyes widened as she and El shared a worried look.

Billy.

***

_Edited: 10/07/2020_


	56. FIFTY ONE; The Sauna Test

"It is fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the County Recorder's Office." Robin said, laying a huge map showing the mall's layout on the table. "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."

"Not bad." Dustin complimented.

Robin pointed to a place on the map. "So, this is us, Scoops," she moved her hand to the other end where Cat was standing, "and this is where we want to get."

"I mean, I don't really see a way in." Steve said.

"There's not, if you're talking exclusively about doors." She lifted up the map to reveal another, although slightly different, one underneath.

"Air ducts." Both Catherine and Dustin said at the same time.

"Exactly." Robin grinned. "Turns out, this secret room need air just like any old room." She grabbed a whiteboard pen and began to trace a line on the paper, starting at the secret room. "And these air ducts lead all the way... here." She drew a circle around their current location.

***

Steve stood on the ladder as he used a screwdriver to take of the cover to the air vent. He handed the cover to Catherine, who handed him a flashlight in return. She placed the cover on the floor by her feet as Steve inspected the vent.

The plan was for Dustin to climb through the vents and to the secret room where he would then open the door for the others. Cat highly disagreed with the plan. She promised her mother that she would take care of her brother, and letting him crawl through vents to a hidden room filled with Russian weapons was not the way to do it.

"Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if you can fit in here. It's, like... super tight."

"I'll fit. Trust me. No collar bones, remember?"

"Dusty, I don't know about this..." Cat anxiously bit her nails.

"I'll be fine." Dustin reassured her, patting her arm. He waited until Steve had climbed down the ladder before he ascended up it towards the vent.

"Uh, excuse me?" Robin said, confused. "What's this about 'no collar bones'?"

"Oh, he's, uh... Yeah, he's got some disease." Steve attempted to explain. "Chry, uh... It's chrydo, um..." He nudged Cat's shoulder. "You explain."

Cat turned to Robin. "I forget what it's called, but, basically, he's missing bones and stuff."

Steve clicked his fingers. "That's it. Yeah. He can bend like Gumbo."

"You mean Gumby." Robin corrected.

"I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo."

Dustin, who was halfway in the vent, interrupted the teens' conversation. "Steve, just shut up and push me!" He yelled.

"Okay." Steve stood on the bottom of the ladder and grabbed the younger boy's feet. "I'll push ya." He pushed Dustin's feet , not that it did anything.

"Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass."

Cat laughed from where she stood next to Robin, the two girls watching the amusing sight.

"What?"

"Touch my butt!" Dustin yelled. "I don't care!"

Steve climbed up to the next step on the ladder as he began to attempt to push Dustin into the vents. The two began yelling at each other. Cat sighed, sharing a concerned look with Robin as she rolled her eyes.

The two girls turned back to the front of the shop as the bell rung. Erica Sinclair was back.

"Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck!" She 'dinged' the bell again.

Robin turned to Cat, an idea forming in her head.

"I think I just had an idea."

Cat grinned, glancing towards Erica out of the corner of her eye. "Me too."

***

Stood in the carpark for the public swimming pool, the party spied on Max's brother- Billy. They stood behind a car as Max looked through the binoculars.

"I don't know. He looks pretty normal to me."

"Normal? How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?" Lucas challenged.

"I mean, it's a little weird." Max agreed.

"More than a little." Mike chimed in. "He was in a tub with ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold. Plus everything else-"

"But he's lounging at the pool, which is, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever." Max argued.

"Not necessarily." Will said and the group all turned to look at him as he elaborated. "The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like... like you're dormant. And then, when he needs you," he looked over towards Billy, "you're activated."

"Okay, so we just... wait until he gets activated." Max suggested.

Mike shook his head. "No. What if he hurts someone?"

"Or kills someone?" Will added.

"We can't take that chance. We need to find out if he's the host."

They started forming a plan, a plan that would lead them to finding out vital information. A plan that would shatter Max's heart. A plan that would tell the party members that Billy was, in fact, a host to evil.

***

Erica clicked the torch on and peered into the air vent. "Hmm..." She hummed, climbing back down. "Yeah, I don't know."

"You don't know if you can fit?" Cat asked, raising an eyebrow at the small ten year old.

"Oh, I can fit. I just don't know if I want to."

Catherine rolled her eyes at the sass emitting from the small child. Exasperated, she leaned her head on Steve's shoulder.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked.

Erica snickered. "I don't have phobias."

"Of course you don't." Cat mumbled.

"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve asked her, his arms folded across his chest.

"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica."

"Oh, great," Catherine muttered, leaning towards Steve's ear, "she speaks about herself in the third person."

***

They were now sat in a booth in the main part of the store, the table covered in all different sorts of ice-creams as the four teens tried to convince Erica to help them. Seeming slightly irritated, Steve slid a banana boat across the table to the young girl. Cat slumped forward over the table, careful to avoid getting her hair in any ice-cream.

She hadn't got much sleep the previous night. Between nearly getting caught by a heavily armed Russian and the phone call to her mother, she was pretty shaken. She didn't have a problem with Erica Sinclair. In fact, she quite liked the girl. But she was exhausted and when she was exhausted, she got irritated at anything and everything.

Catherine barely noticed Erica pushing the ice-cream back down the table, asking for more fudge. She didn't even register Steve getting up from the table and crossing the room to the counter where he irritatedly scooped more fudge onto the banana boat.

"All right." Robin sighed, holding up the blueprints to show Erica. "You see this?" She pointed to the lines she had drawn in red. "This is the route you're gonna take. Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?"

"Exactly."

Cat lifted her head from the table and held up her thumbs to the younger girl. "Correct. Then we can all go home and sleep."

Erica hummed. "And you say this guard is armed."

"Yes, but he wont be there." Dustin reassured her.

"And booby traps?"

"Booby traps?" Cat asked.

"Lasers, spikes in the wall?"

"What?" Robin asked.

"You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?" Erica asked, folding her arms on the table. "Child endangerment."

"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica cut off Robin's reassurance attempt. "Child endangerment." She repeated.

"Erica?" Dustin said, catching the girl's attention. "Hi. Uh... We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"

"You can't spell 'America' without 'Erica'." She started slurping on her drink, her comment leaving the rest of the table slightly dumbfounded.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. So, so, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America... Erica."

Erica shivered. "Ooh! I just got the chills."

Dustin smiled, thinking his little speech had worked.

"Oh, yeah, from this float, not your speech." Catherine raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Know what I love most about this country?"

"No." Cat mumbled, pulling one of the ice-creams towards her taking a bite.

"Capitalism." Erica continued. "Do you know what capitalism is?"

"Yeah." Robin and Dustin answered while Cat nodded.

"It means this is a free market system. Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are. At seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all. So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life."

Cat wasn't sure what to say as she stared at Erica. She was astounded at how smart she was. But she was also confused. _What ten year old knows so much about capitalism?_

***

_Edited: 10/07/2020_


	57. FIFTY TWO; The Sauna Test

"Erica, do you copy?" Robin asked, speaking into the radio. It was now dark, the mall was shut and their plan was in motion. The teens were located on the roof, keeping watch while Erica prepared to crawl through the air ducts from Scoops Ahoy.

 _"Mm-hmm. I copy."_ Erica's sassy voice replied through the radio. _"You nerds in position or what?"_

"Yeah, we're in position." Robin told her.

Cat pulled the radio towards her. "And please don't calls us nerds. Not all of us are smart enough to be shoved into that category."

"It's all quiet here," Robin told the young girl, "so you've got the green light."

_"Green light, roger that. Commence Operation Child Endangerment."_

"Can we maybe not call it that?" Robin suggested, the others nodding their heads in agreement beside her.

_"See you on the other side. Nerds."_

"Would you please stop calling us that?" Cat complained, resting her head on the wall.

***

The wait for Erica Sinclair to crawl through the vents felt like forever, when in reality it probably only took between thirty and forty-five minutes. Catherine was teaching Steve how to braid her hair when Erica contacted them again.

_"All right, nerds. I'm there."_

"Please stop calling us nerds." Catherine complained, yet again, as she wrapped a hairband around the end of her braid. For a first attempt, Steve had done a pretty good job. Her hair was out of her face and no longer a distraction.

"Do you- do you see anything?" Robin asked into the radio.

_"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about."_

"Not excited. Just curious." Cat corrected.

"Any guards?" Robin asked.

_"Negative."_

"What about booby traps?" Cat asked.

 _"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"_ Erica sassed.

"Thank you for that."

There was a few seconds of silence while Eric jumped out of the vent. _"I'm in."_

"Oh, God." Steve sighed.

They waited a few moments until Erica manged to open the doors, stepping outside. From the roof, the teens could see Erica standing with one hand on her hip.

_"Free ice cream for life."_

***

Finally off the roof and in the hidden room, the 'Scoops Troop' gathered around as Steve sliced one of the boxes open. Inside was another box, although this one was metal.

"What the hell..." Cat muttered, peering over Steve's shoulder.

Steve turned the handle, air hissing as he did so. He pulled off the lid and they all peered into the box where four more smaller containers laid.

"What is that?" Cat asked, although no one knew the answer.

"That's definitely not Chinese food." Steve commented. "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."

Cat immediately took a huge step back, not having to be told twice- unlike Dustin. Robin and Erica moved back, but Dustin protested.

"Dusty, please, just step back." Cat begged, not wanting for her younger brother to get hurt.

"No." He turned to Steve. "If you die, I die."

Steve stared at him for a moment before giving in, not wanting to waste time arguing. "Okay."

"You cant be serious." Catherine said, her voice full of disbelief. "What if you both die? I'm not losing both of you."

"You won't." Steve reassured her. Before Cat could protest any more, Steve twisted the handle of one of the smaller containers. He lifted it up, revealing a glass cylindrical container filled with some sort of green, bubbly liquid.

"I think I'm gonna puke." Cat mumbled, lifting a hand up to cover her mouth.

"What is that?" Robin asked, even though none of them had a clue.

Suddenly, the room began to rumble.

"Was that just me, or did the room move?" Dustin asked.

"Booby traps." Erica whispered.

"She might be right." Cat said, moving over to Steve and taking the container. "We should put this back... and maybe run."

The room began to shake some more.

"Cathy's right. Let's just grab this and go." Robin said, reaching over and taking ahold of the weird liquid.

Dustin moved over to the door, pressing the 'Open Door' button. Nothing happened. "Which one do I press, Erica?"

"Just press the damn button, nerd."

"Which one? I'm pressing the button, okay?"

"Press 'Open Door'."

"I'm pressing 'Open Door'."

"Just open the- Press the other button." Steve joined in, moving over to the panel of buttons.

Cat pushed herself as far as she could go into the corner. The situation was stressing her out and she could feel her breathing getting uneven. She screwed her eyes shut and clamped her hands over her ears.

Robin, upon noticing her friend, moved closer to her. "Cathy? Catherine? Are you okay?" She turned towards Steve. "Steve, I think something's up with your girlfriend. Is she having a panic attack, or...?"

They all stared at Catherine, not sure what to do. Blood started to trickle from her nose. 

"Oh, God." Steve muttered. "Something's gonna happen."

The panel behind him and Dustin exploded, causing a set of red doors to come down, locking them in the room. The lights began flickering as the room shook and plummeted straight down. All five of them began to scream as they attempted to grab on to something.

***

_Edited: 13/07/2020_


	58. FIFTY THREE; The Flayed

"We're going down!" Steve screamed. "We're going down!"

Dustin was swearing, desperately slamming all the buttons.

"I don't think that'll work." Cat screamed, tripping over her feet and crashing into the shelves.

"Yeah, no shit, Harrington!" Robin screamed at Steve who was still screaming.

"Why don't these buttons work?!"

"I don't like this!" Cat screamed. "Oh, God, I think I'm gonna be sick."

To say it was chaos would be an understatement.

"Please, do not throw up all over us!" Erica yelled. She ran over to where Dustin was frantically pushing the buttons. "Press the button!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!"

"Just make it stop!" Cat screamed.

"You have powers!" Dusting yelled. "Do something!"

Cat pointed a finger at him. "You know damn well I can't control them!"

"Just press the button!" Steve yelled.

The room- well lift, as it seemed to be- came to a crashing stop, sending all of them to the floor. Cat went flying to the floor, the boxes falling on top of her. She tried shoving them away but they were too heavy. Her ankle felt twisted and she realised that she probably fell on it awkwardly in the crash.

"Jesus Christ." She groaned.

"My groin. It fell on my groin." Steve complained, pushing the boxes off of himself. "Hope you didn't want kids, babe, because with the way these boxes fell on me..." He stood up and his gaze instantly fell on the boxes piled on top of his girlfriend. "You okay?" He knelt beside her and began lifting the boxes.

"No." Cat replied, her voice muffled. "Everything hurts."

Steve grabbed her hands once she was free from the boxes and began to help her stand up. As soon as she put the slightest bit of pressure on her right foot, she cried out in pain.

Steve looked down at Cat's ankle, wincing when he saw how badly twisted it was. "Shit. You really took a fall." He helped her sit down on the floor knowing standing up wasn't the best idea.

"Is everyone okay?" Robin asked, rubbing the back of her head where she hit it.

"No." Cat answered, wiping the blood from her nose.

"Yeah, I'm great, now that I know that Russians can't design elevators! And my girlfriend's busted her leg!" Steve screamed, going over to the buttons and furiously pressing all of them.

Catherine looked at her foot. "Oh, shit, that really is twisted."

"I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work." Robin told him, her voice relatively calm.

"They're buttons." Steve yelled. "They have to do something." He let out a frustrated sigh. "They need to open so we can get Cat some medical attention."

"I'm fine." Cat lied. She attempted to stand up to prove her point- although she only proved Steve's point. She couldn't put any pressure on her right foot.

"No, you're not." Steve groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Ugh. These buttons should open the damn door!"

"Yeah, if we had a keycard." Robin pointed out.

"A what?"

"It's an electronic lock." She walked over to it, moving Steve out of the way. "Same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a keycard, it won't operate, meaning-"

"We're stuck in here." Dustin realised.

"Fucking hell." Cat swore, covering her face with her hands.

"Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me. But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you four are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat."

Steve snapped. "I don't care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack's party! Your mom's not gonna be able to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!"

"Hey." Dustin caught their attention. He pointed to the roof. "What if we climbed out?"

Steve and Dustin climbed through the hatch to the roof, to investigate while the girls stayed inside the elevator. Upon standing on top of the elevator, the boys discovered that they were deep, deep underground and there was no possible way that they could climb out.

***

Night had arrived, at least according to Catherine's watch it had. Both Dustin and Erica were asleep while the older three stayed up to devise an escape plan. So far, they hadn't come up with anything.

Cat sat in between Steve's legs, her head resting on his chest. She decided to change the subject, seeing as they weren't getting anywhere with their plan. "I think I'm ready to talk about it now." She whispered, not wanting to disturb the younger kids- not that Dustin was a kid anymore.

"Talk about what?" Robin asked from where she was sprawled out on the floor next to the couple.

Cat lifted her hand to the locket hanging around her neck, her fingers clasping around it. "My dad."

Steve sat up straighter, wrapping his arms around her waist. "We're listening." He told her softly.

"It was the first year of high school, well the end." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had never really spoken about her dad before, not to anyone. With her family, her father was a topic they never spoke about. Once the grieving process had calmed down, her mother made a decision to not bring the subject up again- she found it too painful, even four years later.

"It was July fourth 1981 and, um," She paused, not knowing how to tell the story. Steve comfortingly rubbed his hands up and down her arms- his attempt at comforting his emotionally fragile girlfriend. "He was... It was late, I think.. Oh, God... It's all hazy..."

"It's okay." Robin whispered. "We've got forever in here. You can take your time."

Catherine nodded. "He was coming home from work late. I remember, because I was disappointed he couldn't go to the fireworks with us. Some drunk driver hit him. At least, that what's Mom told me when I came downstairs. Hopper was the one who told us, him and my dad were quite close... I, I remember Mom crying..." She wiped the tears that had started to silently roll down her cheeks. "Sometimes I still can't believe he's gone." She sobbed, burying her head in Steve's chest. "I can't believe I'm stuck down here during his anniversary."

"It's gonna be okay." Steve softly stroked Catherine's hair. "He was a great man." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Cathy, you're amazing, and I bet your dad was too."

"He would have liked you, Ro." Cat whispered. "And he hate me for getting stuck in a goddamn Russian elevator." She chuckled slightly, closing her eyes in order to attempt to sleep.

***

"I found him." Eleven said. She had been looking for Hopper in the void, and had successfully found his location.

"Where is he?" Max asked.

"Woods."

"Woods?" Lucas questioned.

"He's with... Will's mom."

"My- My mom?" Will asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"What are they doing?" Max asked her.

"Ill... annoy." El said, unsure about where her dad and Joyce were going and what they were talking about. "They're going to Ill-annoy."

Karen Wheeler, Mike's mom, interrupted the party by banging on the basement door. "Mike! Breakfast!" She yelled, unaware of the events going on.

"Not now, Mom!" Mike yelled back. He turned back to El. "Illinois? Illinois, like the state?"

El removed the blindfold from over her eyes.

"The state of Illinois?" Mike asked again.

El shrugged. "Ill-annoy."

***

It was now the next morning, again, according to Cat's watch, and Dustin was stood on top of the elevator. He was using his radio to gain the attention of anyone that happened to be on the same channel- although everyone was out of range.

"Code red, I repeat, code red. Does anyone copy? This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. Does anyone copy? We are innocent children and we are trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins and if we are found, they will torture and kill us."

"Hey." Steve interrupted, climbing up through the hatch. "You gotta take it easy on that thing. Gonna drain the battery."

"The mall just opened."

"So?"

"So someone could be in range." Dustin explained.

"What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?"

"All right, why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with your girlfriend?"

"Jesus Christ." Steve sighed.

"I heard you guys talking all night. With Robin."

"We were all trying to figure out a way to open up the door while you children were sleeping." Steve informed the younger boy while he crossed to the other side of the roof. "After eight hours, we're still exactly nowhere, which is, you know, probably just a little bit of the reason why I'm feeling just... a tad cranky."

"I heard crying.."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, your sister was telling us about your dad."

"Oh." Dustin wasn't sure what to say.

Steve turned his back and unzipped his pants.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a leak. Look away. Look away!"

Inside the elevator, Robin and Cat were trying to fix the button panel. Catherine had to lean all her weight on the door so she didn't cause more damage to her foot.

"Can you redirect your stream, please?" The blonde yelled up to Steve, who, in response, moved his 'stream' over very slightly. "Ugh. How can you date him?"

Cat winked at Robin. "He's good."

"Seriously?!"

"Oh, my God! Ro! I meant he's a good guy... But that too."

Their heads snapped to Erica who had started banging the glass container on one of the boxes. "Hey, hey!" Robin yelled, running over. "Be careful, careful, careful!" She took the container out of Erica's hands and handed it over to Catherine (who was still leaning on the wall). "We don't even know what that is."

"Exactly. It could be useful."

"Useful how?" Cat asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We can survive down here for a long time without food," Erica informed them, "but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die."

"I hate to break it to you, but _this_ is not water." Robin told her.

"No, but it's a liquid, and if it comes down to me drinking that shit or dying of thirst, I drink."

"She does have a point." Cat reluctantly agreed. An electronic whirring sound caught her attention and as she glanced away from the other two, Erica took back the suspicious green liquid. "What the hell?" She muttered, pressing her ear against the door. "Robin, come over here."

Robin placed an ear on the door, copying Cat. Her eyes widened. "Shit." She took hold of Cat's arm and helped her across the room. Robin climbed up, her head peering through the hatch to inform the boys. "We've got company. Steve, I need you to help Cathy climb up." She ducked back down, Steve following after her. Between the two of them, they managed to carry Catherine up the shelves and through the hatch in the roof. Robin made sure that Erica had climbed up before she also clambered up, closing the hatch behind her.

***

**A/N:**

_Think I'm gonna end this one here._

_Wow, that got a bit deep. But we're finally into the proper action. And who would I be if I didn't badly injure my character?_

***

_Edited: 13/07/2020_


	59. FIFTY FOUR; The Flayed

They watched from above as two Russian workers opened the red doors and began picking up boxes to load onto their cart. From what they could see, and hear, they seemed to be having a conversation of sorts, although none of them knew what they were saying.

Steve signalled for them all to be quiet. His eyes landed on Erica and the container she held and an idea formed in his head.

When the Russians were out of the sight and the door had started to close, Steve jumped down with the container. He slid it across the floor and it stopped under the door, temporarily blocking it.

"Let's go." They threw Erica's backpack down and Steve caught it, shoving it under the door. He waved each of them down- Cat having to be helped back down into the elevator. One at a time, they slid under the small gap between the door and the floor, Steve sliding out just in time before the glass broke and the liquid spilt everywhere.

"Jesus Christ." Steve breathed as he helped Cat up from the floor. With Robin's help, she managed to climb onto Steve's back. She couldn't walk and so a piggy-back from her boyfriend seemed necessary.

They all stared as the liquid sizzled, creating a hole in the floor.

"Holy crap." Catherine muttered, gripping tighter onto Steve to make sure she didn't slip. She found it great that she had chosen to wear shorts that day as a skirt would have a been a disaster for the situation she had found herself in.

"You still wanna drink that?" Robin asked Erica.

"Holy mother of God." Dustin sighed, turning around to see the massive hallway they had to walk down.

The others turned around, their mouths gaping at the sight before them.

"You've got to be kidding me." Cat sighed, burying her face into Steve's shoulder.

"Well... hope you guys are in good shape." Steve said, walking forward. "looking at you, roast beef." He said to Dustin as he passed the boy, patting him on the chest.

"I hope you are, too, babe." Cat said. "Because you have to carry me the whole way." She grinned.

***

Nancy and Jonathan had now joined the party in the Wheeler's basement and the two groups were sharing each of their events.

"It was the same thing," Nancy was saying, "the exact same thing that happened to Will last year. And look at this." She picked up her notes from the hospital. "Look at the body temperatures."

The party crowded around Nancy's notes.

"He likes it cold." Will said, looking up at the older girl, his eyes wide.

"Okay, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer-" Mike started.

"Mrs. Driscoll." Nancy interrupted.

"Right, yeah, Mrs. Driscoll. What time was this attack?"

"Last night."

"Right, but what time last night?"

"Around nine."

"You waited all night to call?" Jonathan asked her.

"I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests." Nancy told him. "Plus, I was trying to get ahold of Catherine, but no ones picking up there."

"We can't ahold of Dustin, either." Max said.

"You weren't there?" Will asked his brother.

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Hallelujah!" Nancy commented, her voice full of sarcasm. "Um, so, wha- what time was your... sauna test?" She asked the others, moving the conversation along.

"Around nine." The party all chorused.

"Well, that proves it. That proves my theory."

"She's flayed, just like Billy." Mike realised.

"Flayed?" Jonathan asked.

"The Mind Flayer. He flays people." The younger Wheeler explained. "Takes over their mind. Once they do that, they basically become him."

"If there are two flayed-" Lucas started.

"We have to assume there are more." Will finished.

El's eyes widened. "Heather. Billy was doing something to her." She thought back to what she had seen. "She was scared. She was screaming. Bad screams."

"What's a good scream?" Lucas asked, sceptical.

"Max said-"

"Doesn't matter." Max cut her off.

"I'm sorry, I'm lost. Who is Heather?" Nancy asked.

"She's a lifeguard at the pool."

"Heather Holloway?" The two younger girls nodded.

Nancy shared a worried look with Jonathan. "Tom." They both said.

***

The 'Scoops Troop' continued to walk down the long corridor. It felt like they had been walking forever. Cat was beginning to feel like a burden for making Steve carry her all the way.

"I mean, you have to admit," Dustin said, breaking the silence, "as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive."

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked, pushing Catherine up a little so she didn't slip off his back. "It's a total fire hazard. There's no stairs, there's no exit, there's just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell."

"And nearly kills you in the process." Cat added.

"They're Commies." Erica said. "You don't pay people, they cut corners."

"How do you know so much about capitalism and all that stuff anyway?" Cat asked, receiving a shrug in response from the younger girl.

"To be fair to our Russian comrades," Robin spoke, "I don't think this tunnel was designed for walking. I mean, think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo."

"Ro does have a point." Cat agreed, sending a smile over to her friend.

"It all comes into the mall like any old delivery." Dustin added.

"And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody's the wiser."

"You think they built this whole mall just so they could transport that green poison?" Steve asked.

"It's a possibility." Cat said.

"I very seriously doubt it's something as boring as poison." Dustin told them. "It's gotta be much more valuable, like promethium or something."

"What the hell is promethium?"

"It's what Victor Stone's dad used to make Cyborg's bionic and cybernetic components." Robin answered.

"You're all so nerdy, it makes me physically ill." Erica said.

"Hey!" Cat protested. "I'm not a nerd!"

"No, no, no. No, don't lump me in with them." Steve frowned. "I'm not a nerd, all right? Neither is Cat, for the most part."

"Hey!" Cat yelled again.

"Why so sensitive, Harrington?" Robin teased. "Afraid of losing cool points to a ten-year-old child?"

"No, I'm just saying that I don't know jack shit about Prometheus."

"Babe, it's promethium." Cat corrected quietly.

"Prometheus is a Greek mythological figure," Dustin explained, "but whatever. All I'm saying is, it's probably being used to make something."

"Or power something." Robin suggested.

"Like a nuclear weapon?" Steve asked.

"Totally."

"Walking towards a nuclear weapon. That's great. That'd be great." Steve muttered sarcastically.

"But if they're building something, why here?" Robin questioned. "I mean, Hawkins. Seriously. Of all places. At the very best, we're a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland, but maybe that's it. Maybe it's our very..." She continued rambling, her and Erica walking ahead while the boys- and Catherine- stopped in their tracks.

The three shared a very worried look and Cat had to restrain herself from biting her nails.

"You think the Russians know?" Dustin whispered.

"About-" Steve started, the other two knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"They could."

"It's possible."

"So it's connected?"

"Maybe?"

"How?"

Cat shrugged her shoulders. "It's gotta be somehow."

"I don't know, but it's..." Dustin started.

"Possible." The three of them said in unison.

"I'm sorry," Robin called from up ahead, turning around to face the three, "is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

Cat didn't like keeping the events of the past two years a secret from her friend, but she had no choice if she wanted to keep Robin safe.

Before either of the three could say anything, static hissed from the radio inside Erica's backpack, followed by a man speaking Russian. Steve and Dustin rushed over to Erica and Robin- Cat obviously still being carried by the former. They took the radio out of the bag and Robin started speaking along in Russian, saying the exact same words as the Russian male.

"It's the code."

"Wherever that broadcast is coming from-" Dustin started.

"It's close." Cat grinned.

"And if there's one thing we know about that signal..." Robin added, grinning.

"It can reach the surface."

***

_Edited: 13/07/2020_


	60. FIFTY FIVE; The Flayed

The party, plus Nancy and Jonathan, rolled up to the Holloway household. The same house that Max and El visited when they checked up on Billy the day prior. Nancy rang the doorbell a couple of times before they all realised that no one was going to answer. The eldest two looked to Eleven who used her powers to unlock the door and swing it open.

Tentatively, Nancy and the others stepped inside, worried about what they were going to find.

"Tom?" Nancy called out, unsure of her ex-boss' whereabouts. "Heather?"

"Jesus, it's freezing." Max commented to El as they all followed Nancy through the seemingly deserted house.

"Do you guys smell that?" Nancy asked as they entered the living room. "Oh, God."

They entered the kitchen to see it that it was in a complete state. The fridge lying on the floor and every single cleaning product was open- and empty.

"More chemicals." Nancy observed, walking further into the room.

They crowded around the fridge, unable to take their eyes off the chemicals.

"You think they're guzzling this shit?" Jonathan asked the eldest Wheeler.

"Yeah, either that or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree." Nancy joked.

"But last year, Will didn't eat chemicals." Max pointed out. "Did you?"

"No. This is something new."

"Mr. Clarke, fifth grade. Posit." Mike said. "What happens when you mix chemicals together?"

"You create a new substance." Both Will and Lucas answered.

"What if they're making something?" Mike suggested.

"In themselves?" Max questioned. "I mean, come on, if you drink this crap, it'll kill you."

"Yeah, if you're human." Lucas pointed out.

***

The further down the tunnel the Scoops Troop walked, the higher the risk of them being spotted increased. After nearly being found, the five of them hid behind a large metal crate. Steve put Catherine back on the floor in order for them all to fit in the tiny space between the grate and the wall. It took everything Cat had not to cry out from the pain.

Once the coast was clear, Steve waved them out- his arm wrapped around Cat's waist as he helped her walk (well, hop).

"Okay, that was close." Robin breathed.

"Did I mention that I hate small spaces?" Cat whispered sharply. "Because they're fucking horrible."

"Relax." Steve told them as they continued to walk through the tunnel, Catherine leaning nearly all her weight on him. "All right? Relax. Nobody saw..." He trailed off as they rounded a corner and their eyes fell on hundreds (maybe an exaggeration, but there were lots) of military Russians. They'd finally reached the main source of the operation.

"Shit." Cat hissed as Steve pulled her behind a row of boxes, their friends right behind them. She hissed as she crouched down, her weight now on her busted leg.

" _Red Dawn_." Dustin said.

"What?" Cat whispered, turning sharply to stare at her brother.

"I saw it." Erica told them. "First floor, northwest."

"Saw what?" Steve asked her, the others looking just as confused.

"The comms room."

"You saw the comms room?" Cat asked her. Erica Sinclair had yet to stop amazing her.

"Correct."

"Are you sure?" Dustin asked.

"Positive. The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there."

"That could be a hundred different things."

"I'll take those odds." Robin said, looking pointedly at Steve and Catherine.

"Me too. Anything to help us get out of here." Cat nodded.

Steve sighed and shook his head before glancing back to where all the Russians were working. "All right." He whispered. "We're gonna move fast, we're gonna stay low. Cat, honey, you're gonna have to put pressure on your foot but it'll be okay. Okay?"

The others nodded. Cat took a deep breath, preparing for the huge amount of pain she was about to be in because of her goddamn, motherfucking, possibly broken ankle.

They crept closer to the door, making sure to stay low and occasionally hide behind the massive grates. Cat gripped tightly onto Steve's arm and bit her tongue. She was in so much pain, but she didn't want to make any noise because then they'd be caught.

One of the scientists left the comms room and before the door swung shut, they quietly raced across the floor to the door. Steve caught it just before it closed and ushered them in. Once they all made it quietly through the door, they came face to face with a very confused member of the Russian military.

He reached for his gun and Robin immediately stepped forward, saying something to him in Russian.

"Протектор слегка! Протектор слегка." {Tread lightly.}

"Ты кто?" _{Who are you?}_

"Silver cat.." Robin said, still talking in Russian and pointing to herself. "Silver cat."

"Я не понимаю." {I don't understand.}

"Китай?" Robin asked. {China?}

The man scoffed and put his hand on his gun, ready to start shooting them. Steve yelled, running forward and tackling the guy. The two started fighting.

"Steve!" Cat yelled, limping forward and raising her arms- much like El did whenever she used her powers. She concentrated as hard as she could and threw the guy off of Steve. Steve then regained his stance and grabbed the phone, whacking the Russian in the head and knocking him unconscious.

"Dude!" Dustin yelled. "You did it! You won a fight!"

"Uh, yeah, with Cat's help though." He turned to his girlfriend, making his way over to her and wrapping her in a hug. "Thanks babe."

"No problem. I was scared that he'd kill you." She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest, the blood dripping from her nose staining the front of his shirt.

"How the hell did Catherine help?" Erica asked. "She's was standing over here the entire time?" She raised an eyebrow.

"She's has powers." Dustin explained.

"It's a long story." Cat told her.

Dustin ran over to the unconscious soldier and knelt down next to him as he unhooked the keycard from the soldier's belt.

"What are you doing?" Erica asked him.

"Getting us our ticket out of here."

Cat took a seat at the radio machine and began pressing buttons. "Dusty, what channel is it?"

"Six. Why?"

"Do you want help or not? I'm gonna attempt to contact the others." She ignored the arguing of the others behind her as she began to work the radio. She was too focused on trying to get the thing to work that she didn't notice her friends disappear up the stairs where they discovered the Russians had built a machine- one they were using to re-open the upside down.

"Hello?" Cat spoke into the mic once she had got it working. "Can anyone hear me?" She sighed. "I need help, we're trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Russian military have a secret base."

No answer.

"Fuck!" Cat yelled, frustratingly running her hand through her messy hair. "I could really do with some back up down here, maybe a little rescue. There's five of us down here and we're trapped. If we're found, they will kill us."

 _"Hello?"_ She heard through the radio.

"Hi? Yes! Hi."

_"Cat, is that you? Holy shit, where are you? We've looked everywhere but-"_

"Nance? Okay, I'm gonna need you to contact Hopper. Get him to bring the military to Starcourt. It's an emergency."

"He's in Illinois, apparently. Where are you?"

"What?! But we need him!" Cat groaned. _Where was the Chief of Police when you needed him?_

_"Where the hell are you?"_

"We're under Starcourt."

_"You're at the mall? What are you doing, shopping?"_

"No, under it. Steve, Robin, Dustin, Erica and I." There was the sound of a commotion happening up the stairs to her right. "Shit. Just, send some help. Nancy, it's very important that you find us. If the Russians find us-" The line filled with static as the line was cut off. "Shit! No, no, no! This can't be happening. Nancy? Nancy? Nance, are you still there? Fuck!" She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's just me." Steve reassured her. "We have to go."

"But I need to contact Nancy again. I'm not sure if she even got my message. And Hopper, he's in Illinois. Steve, we're all on our own down here."

Steve wrapped his arms around her, helping her stand from the chair. "It's going to be okay. We're gonna get out of here. And we're gonna get out alive. All of us."

***

_Edited: 27/07/2020_


	61. FIFTY SIX; E Pluribus Unum

While Steve was trying to calm Catherine down and catch her up on what she had missed, Robin and Dustin were arguing about how the latter, Steve and Cat knew about the machine they had just witnessed in action.

"I don't understand. You three have seen this before?"

"Not exactly." Dustin told her.

"Then what, exactly?"

"All you need to know is it's bad. It's really bad. Like, end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad."

"And you know about this how?"

"Um, Steve?" Erica asked, pulling the older teen's attention away from his distressed girlfriend. "Where's your Russian friend?"

They all looked to the ground to see the once unconscious soldier no longer there. Dustin turned to his older sister as an alarm started blaring.

"You let him get away?!"

"I was _trying_ to contact Nancy and get us some help. But _nooo_ , Hopper has to be off in goddamn Illinois. For fucks sake!" Cat yelled.

"He's in Illinois? What the hell's he doing there?" Dustin asked her.

"Do I look like I know?"

While the two siblings had been arguing, Steve had run to the door, opening it briefly to see the soldier he had knocked out pointing in the direction of the comms room before all of the soldiers started running towards them.

He slammed the door shut. "Shit." He grabbed Catherine's hand, pulling her along behind him as he began to run up the stairs. "Go, go, go, go, go!"

The others followed behind the pair, Cat using her adrenaline to push through the pain of her leg.

They ran up the stairs, pushing through a glass door into a room filled with scientists. They all stared at the teenagers and pre-teen in confusion.

Cat's attention focused on the bright light behind the adults in white lab coats. She stared at the machine and what it was firing a beam at.

_The gate. They were opening the gate._

"No, no, no, no." She muttered as Steve pulled her along. "This can't be happening. No, no, no." Cat barely registered as they ran down some stairs and along a walkway- pushing past confused scientists. She was pulled back into focus when Steve pulled her behind him into a small room, and he and Robin forced all their weight on the door to keep the Russians out.

"I'll help." Cat said, speaking loud enough for the others to hear. She raised her hands, sending energy pulses towards the door. Her nose began bleeding like a faucet.

Erica and Dustin were climbing down into the vent- their only way out. "Come on!" The younger Henderson called to the older three.

"Go! Just get out of here!" Steve yelled back. Even with Cat's powers helping to hold the door, it still wasn't enough to keep the Russians out and so Robin and Steve still had to use all their energy to stop the door from bursting open.

"Go, come on, now!"

"Dusty," Cat yelled, her energy slowly draining, "go. Get yourselves out of here. Find Hopper. Find the others."

"Just go!" The teens yelled.

As Dustin disappeared into the vent, closing it behind him, the guards managed to push the door open. Steve and Robin were sent to the floor where they held their hands up in surrender. Feeling her energy seeping away, Cat held her hands up. Her eyes fluttered shut and she crumpled to the ground. She was completely drained.

***

When Catherine came to, she was sat on an uncomfortable bench in an interrogation room. She tried to look at her surroundings but the Russian soldier grabbed her face, forcing her to stare at him.

"Who do you work for?"

"Where am I? What have you done with my friends?" Cat asked, trying to remain calm.

The man spat in her face, tightening the gip he had on her face. "Who do you work for?" He repeated.

Cat scoffed. "No one. I'm a failed high school student. Who's gonna want to hire me?"

The soldier removed his hand from her face and slapped her with such a force that he bruised Catherine's cheek.

"Fuck!" Cat yelled, spitting blood onto the floor.

"Who do you work for?!" The soldier screamed, spit flying all over her face.

"I fucking told you already. No one!"

"Lies!" A loud crack sounded as his fist collided with her face, breaking her nose. He was right in her face now. "Tell me, who do you work for?!"

"No one. I work for no one."

The Russian soldier grew even angrier (if that was possible) and he had reached the end of his tether. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground- the blood from her nose staining the previously pristine floor.

"Who do you work for?!!"

"No one!" Catherine screamed.

"Lies!" He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up close to his face. "Tell me, who do you work for?"

Trying to keep her cool and not break down in front of a member of the Russian military. "Okay, fine, fine. I'm a tutor. I tutor the Chief's daughter." She hoped that by not naming her sister, she wouldn't be putting El in danger.

The soldier threw her to the floor again. "More lies!"

"No, it isn't! I swear! I'm telling the truth!" She screamed as the man slammed his foot on her broken leg. "Ahh! Stop! You're hurting me!"

The soldier leaned down and pulled her up by her hair again. "How did you get in?"

"I don't know! Honest!"

"Lies!" He threw Catherine onto her back and kicked her.

Cat's breath caught in her throat. Yep, he'd definitely just broken a rib or two.

"How did you get in?!"

"The delivery entrance." Cat struggled to breath. "My boyfriend's delivery didn't come so we, and our friends, went to the loading dock and then the room became an elevator and here we are."

"Lies!" He kicked her again.

"It's the truth! We didn't mean to find your base, I swear!"

The soldier picked her up and tied her to a chair before walking out of the room.

"Hey! You can't just leave me in here! Hello?!" She twisted her wrists, desperately trying to wiggle her way out of the bonds. "Fuck." She mumbled. "Come on, come on." When that didn't work- the rope was way too tight- she tried to use her power to help free her.

But nothing happened. The only blood that dripped from her nose was from when the soldier broke it.

"Let me out!" She screamed as loud as she could, having to gasp for air after every sentence. "You morons, let me out!"

Not a moment later, the soldier re-entered the room. But this time, this time there was another with him.

The leader of the whole operation.

The General.

He leant down so he was face to face with Catherine. "Who do you work for?"

Catherine let out a frustrated sigh. "I've been over this already. Come on."

The Russian raised his arm and slapped her around the face. "Let's try this again. Who do you work for?"

The soldier from earlier whispered something in his ear.

"Она сказала, что она была... Репетитор?" _{She said she was a... tutor?}_

The General never took his eyes off of Catherine, even as he spoke to his comrade. "What would a simple tutor want with our secrets?"

"Nothing! I swear. Us coming down here, total accident, I swear!"

The soldier untied her and grabbed her arms, stopping her from going anywhere. "An accident, huh? I'll make your death look like an accident." His voice was menacing and Cat began to shake.

The soldier took a knife from his pocket and help it up menacingly by her throat. "First, I will cut you open with this knife. Then, I will shoot you. We will watch while you bleed out."

Something inside Catherine told her it didn't matter. That she would die a different way and not at the hands of psycho Russian soldiers. She blinked. "Cool, cool, cool. No doubt, no doubt."

The leader of the Russian military seemed to get infuriated by how calm she was being. Without any hesitation what-so-ever, he stabbed the knife straight into Catherine's left leg.

"Fuck!" She screamed. No, she wasn't scared about dying, but damn does it hurt to be stabbed. She stared the man in the eye and spat in his face. "Bastard."

The Russian raised his gun and held it to her head. "You move and I'll shoot. We already have two hostages. There's not really any need to keep you around."

Cat didn't bare breath, scared for her life. Anyone would be with a gun pointed at them, especially at their head. She didn't even blink.

As she and the soldier stared each other down, her nose began to bleed. The blood flowed at alarming rate. Her body began to illuminate and she could feel herself heating up.

Not even Catherine knew what was happening.

"What the hell is going on?" The soldier asked his comrade. "She's- You're glowing!"

Something quite alarming happened. Catherine's bonds broke and her hands shot out in front of her. Light emitted from her hands and the soldiers were thrown backwards into the wall.

Her left leg began to heal up, the knife being thrown across the room, while her right leg repaired the bones.

The General regained his stature and grabbed Catherine, restraining her. His comrade picked up a needle and pricked her neck, the liquid sending her into a dream like state. A state that would stop her from fighting back. Stop her from hurting anybody else.

***

The soldiers dragged Catherine's unconscious form down the hallways to a larger interrogation room, one filled with more torture equipment. Like a limp ragdoll, they threw her onto the floor. More soldiers came in after, dragging an unconscious Steve and a feisty Robin. They, too, were thrown to the floor next to Catherine.

"Hey..." Robin said, trying to wake her two friends up. "Steve? Cathy? Come on, Steve? Cathy? Catherine?" She turned to the General who had just walked in. The same one who had tortured Catherine. "What did you do to them? What did you do?"

The General slapped her with such force that she landed on the ground, hard. She whimpered.

"Положите их в кресла." {Put them in the chairs.} The General instructed. The he reached down and grabbed Catherine, hauling her over to a dentist like chair. "Your friend here is sedated." He told Robin as Catherine was cuffed to the her chair. "She is dangerous."

The other two teens were grabbed by the two soldiers and strapped tightly to chairs, which were then tied together.

A doctor walked in, needle in hand, and headed straight for Catherine.

"No, no, no!" Robin yelled, struggling to break free from the chair. "What are you doing to her?!"

"We're just going to take some blood samples. See what makes your friend over here such..." The General paused dramatically. "...Such a freak. See what makes her tick. She's special, you know?"

Once the doctor had collected enough blood samples, he left and the General's attention turned to Steve. He lifted his head up and inspected the teen's injuries.

"Don't touch him." Robin yelled. "Steve? Steve, can you hear me?" She turned her head as much as possible to try and see him.

"I think your friends need a doctor." The General said, walking around the pair of tied up teens. He leaned down, coming face to face with Robin. "Good thing... we have the very best." He began laughing and so did the other soldiers in the room.

Robin spat in his face.

"You are going to regret that, little bitch. Much like your little friend over there is going to regret throwing me into a wall." The soldiers all left the room, following behind their leader.

"Bastards." Robin called after them. "Let us outta here! Bastards! Let us out! Let us out!"

***

_Edited: 27/07/2020_


	62. FIFTY SEVEN; E Pluribus Unum

Eleven wandered around in the dark void. She was trying to find the location of the Holloways, Mrs. Driscoll, Bruce Lowe (one of Nancy and Jonathan's ex colleagues) and Billy Hargrove. While she searched the void, the rest of the party stood around in the kitchen. They were giving her some space to do her thing while they waited.

"It can't be good for her to be in there this long." Mike said.

"Mike, you need to relax." Max told the boy.

"What if she gets brain damage or something?" He worried, pacing up and down outside El's bedroom door.

"Oh, shit." Lucas exclaimed. "Is that, like, a real thing?"

"No, it's not." Max answered. "He made it up. Mike doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh, and you do?" Mike fired at her.

"No, I..."

The pair continued arguing while Nancy continued her investigation down the phone.

"Yes, from _The Hawkins Post_. I- I called a couple of days ago about the-" The man on the other end interrupted her. "Yes, yes, um... I was just following up to see if anything else had gone missing, or if- Okay. Um, sorry to bother-" The man hung up, cutting her off. Slightly dejected, she hung the phone back on it's receiver.

Jonathan crossed that contact out in the book they had been going through. Nancy couldn't help but sigh.

"Who's next?"

"There is no next." Jonathan told her. "Unless you want to start calling random people's homes."

She chucked her notebook down onto the counter. "It doesn't make any sense."

"What part of any of this makes sense?"

"There's a pattern, okay? A consistency to their behaviour. They've been feeding on these chemicals since this started, and- and, what, they just stop, out of the blue?"

"Maybe they have all the chemicals they need." Will suggested from where he sat on the stool next to the kitchen counter. "Maybe they've all turned into those... things."

"But what about the source? I mean, did the Mind Flayer just suddenly stop infecting people? And even if the flayed are monsters now, why can't El find them?" Nancy ranted.

"Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us?" Max asked, crossing the room to where the others were. Mike and Lucas were right behind her. "Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike or Eleven?"

"The way that you frame that is such bullshit." Mike fired at her.

"It's not bullshit, Mike. This is your whole problem. And it's also precisely the reason why she dumped your ass."

"El dumped you?" Nancy asked her brother, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, because she is conspiring against me." He pointed at Max. "She's corrupting her."

"No, enlightening her." Max corrected. "The fact is, she's not yours. She's her own person, fully capable of making her own decisions."

"She's risking her life for no reason." Mike argued.

"For no reason?" Nancy questioned. "Mike, the flayed are out there doing God knows what."

"Killing, flaying..." Lucas added in.

"Transforming into monsters." Will also added.

"And El's not stupid." Nancy continued. "She knows her abilities better than any of us."

"Exactly, thank you." Max smiled.

"And she is her own person." The older Wheeler added.

"-Exactly."

"With her own free will."

"Exactly. El has saved the world twice, and Mike still doesn't trust her."

"You wanna talk about trust, really? After you made Eleven spy on us?" Mike yelled.

"Wait, what?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, she didn't tell you this?"

"No."

"Your girlfriend used El's powers to spy on us."

"No, no, no, I did not _make_ her." Max interjected. "It was _her_ idea. And why are we even talking about this, seriously?"

"Yeah, who cares?" Will spoke up.

"I care." Lucas said.

"Yeah." Mike agreed. "I guess girlfriends don't lie, they spy." He turned to Max

"We were just joking around." The red-head defended.

"Wouldn't it've been so funny if I was taking a massive shit or something?"

"You weren't." Max pointed out.

"But what if I was?"

"Then gross!" Max cringed.

"Seriously, Mike?" Nancy questioned.

"I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the Earth." Mike ranted. "So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again."

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at Mike, who realised what he had just said.

***

Catherine woke up to the sound of Robin yelling for help, but she could barely register where she was. Her mind was all foggy and the only thing going through her mind was song lyrics, something she found very useful.

"Raindrops on rose," Cat mumbled, her eyes glazed over.

Robin looked over to her friend. "Cathy? Are you okay? You're not making any sense."

"And whiskers on kittens." Cat continued to mumble.

"Hey, would you stop yelling?" Steve mumbled, finally waking up.

Robin turned her head as far as she could to try and see Steve. "Steve! Oh, my God! Steve... Are- Are you okay?"

"Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens..." Cat muttered.

"My ears are ringing, and I can't really breathe, my eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull, but, you know, apart from that, I'm doing pretty good." He lifted his head and up and looked around the room, as much as he possibly could. "Where's Cat? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, I think." Robin told him. "She's on the other side of the room. I believe she's muttering the words from 'The Sound of Music'."

"Did they hurt her?" Steve asked, worried about the state of the love of his life.

"They said they had to sedate her, that she was dangerous and then a doctor took quite a lot of blood samples." Robin explained.

"Oh, God..." Steve muttered. Hearing that, he just knew they had found out about her powers and were going to perform more experiments on her. He couldn't let them do that to her.

"Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings..." Catherine continued, the medicine continuing to mess up her brain. "These are a few of my favourite things..."

"Well, the good news is that they're calling you guys a doctor." Robin told him, chuckling slightly. "I mean, Cathy seems relatively fine other than her face. From what I can see, they messed her nose up pretty bad."

"No, no.." Steve murmured, wishing he could see his girlfriend and help her. "Is this his place of work?" He asked, turning his head to try and see Robin's face. "I love the vibe."

Catherine had now started swaying her head back and forth while she continued through her song. "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes... Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes..." She giggled quietly to herself.

The two teens that weren't completely out of it began to think of an escape plan. "So, okay, seeing as lovely Cathy is going completely crazy," Robin said, "we can't use her powers as a means to escape."

Steve nodded, agreeing.

Robin looked to her left and saw a table covered in equipment. A plan formed in her head "Do you see that table over there to your right?"

Steve turned his head.

"No, your other right."

Steve turned his head so he could see what Robin was looking at. "Oh, okay."

Still completely out of it, Catherine continued mumbling to herself. She was spouting complete nonsense. It was almost as if she was having a conversation with someone. "Well, it's no use now, to pretend to be two people." She mumbled. "Why, there's hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person. Impossible? Nothing's impossible. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." She continued to ramble to herself, each sentence making less sense than the last.

There was a crash as Robin and Steve crashed to the floor, still tied to the chairs. Their plan to hop over and grab the scissors hadn't gone as they'd hoped.

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't cry, Robin." Steve comforted, thinking that the blonde was crying. She began to giggle. "Are you laughing?"

"Yeah." She answered, still laughing.

"Jesus!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. It's just... I can't believe I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington and Catherine 'Psycho' Henderson. It's just too trippy, man."

"We're not gonna die. We're gonna get out of here, okay? All of us. We're gonna get out and we're gonna stop the Russians from turning my girlfriend into a lab rat. Just- You gotta let me just think for a second."

"Do you remember, um, Mrs. Click's sophomore history class?" Robin asked out of the blue.

Steve shook his head. "What?"

"Mrs. Clickity-Clackity." Robin smiled at the memory. "That's what us band of dweebs called her."

Steve sighed.

"It was first period, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you were always late. And you always had the same breakfast. Bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel. I sat behind you two days a week for a year. Mister Funny. Mister Cool. The King of Hawkins High himself. Do you even remember me from that class?"

Steve didn't know what to say so he just remained silent.

"Of course you don't. You were a real asshole, you know that? I don't even know how Cathy could like you so much. I swear, every time I saw her looking at you, she had heart eyes."

"Yeah, I know."

"But it didn't even matter. It didn't matter that you were an ass. I was still... obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular... accepted, normal."

"If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn't all that great. Seriously." He sighed. "It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just..." He chuckled. "...bullshit."

They were both silent for a moment before Steve spoke up again. "But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?"

"I hope so. I feel like my whole life has been... one big error."

"Yep." Steve laughed.

"At least it can't get any more messed up than this." Robin grinned. "Being hostages in a Russian base and having a friend with superpowers." She laughed.

"You know, I wish I'd spoken to Cat during high school instead of leaving her to become popular. And, I wish I'd known you in Click's class."

"Yeah?"

"Really, I do. Maybe you could've helped me pass the class. I mean, Cat tried, but... Well, here I am. Maybe instead of being here I'd be on my way to college right now."

"And I would have no idea that there were evil Russians beneath our feet, let alone Catherine Henderson having superpowers." She chuckled. "And I would be happily slinging ice-cream with some other schmuck."

They both laughed.

"Gotta say, though, I liked being your schmuck. It was fun while it lasted."

"It was."

It was then that the soldiers came back, the door opening with a loud buzz.

Catherine let out a surprised shriek, still in her dazed state. "The Queen!" She mumbled. "Oh, dear, Cheshire, it seems she wants my head. What am I to do?" 

The General chuckled as his men picked up the chairs Robin and Steve were tied to and sat them upright. "Where were you two going?"

"Oh, Wonderland." Cat sighed dreamily. "Isn't it wonderful. Oh, I must see the Mad Hatter and the Hare. Aren't tea parties such fun, Dinah?"

The men ignored the spaced out teen and Robin just sent a confused and worried look over to her. The General bent down, now face to face with Steve. "Try telling the truth this time, yes? It will make your visit with Dr. Zharkov less painful." He looked over to the doctor and nodded.

Dr. Zharkov approached Catherine with the needle gun first.

"No, no, no!" Robin cried.

"What are you doing?" Steve yelled, seeing in his peripheral vision where the doctor was headed. "Get away from her!"

The doctor, of course, payed their cries no attention and continued with his job. The other soldiers laughed at the teens' struggles.

"Stop!" Robin yelled.

The doctor plunged the needle into Catherine's neck, ignoring her rambles of Queens and talking rabbits. The liquid absorbed itself into her veins and subsequently her bloodstream. For a moment she went quiet before she continued spitting out complete nonsense.

"But I don't want to go among mad people." She huffed quietly to herself, sounding like one half of a conversation. "Oh, there's that talking rabbit again. Rabbit, excuse me! Hello?"

While she continued to ramble, the doctor plunged the needle into Steve's neck and then Robin's before all the soldiers left the room.

"Why, yes," Catherine spoke in a rather posh voice, "it is rather a lovey day for a game of flamingo croquet. I would be honoured to play a round against you, my Queen. Queen of Hearts, isn't that funny? A Queen of Hearts." She giggled.

***

_Edited: 27/07/2020_

** A/N: **

_How ironic is it_ _that_ _this chapter has many Alice in Wonderland references in it and_ _I'm_ _publishing it the same day_ _I'm_ _having an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party with my family for my birthday? (Don't worry, we are abiding by the rule of six law that is currently in play- because corona)_


	63. FIFTY EIGHT; E Pluribus Unum

"Honestly, I don't really feel anything." Steve said, sometime after the Russians had left. "Do you?"

"Oh, I do believe it is my unbirthday too." Cat chirpily spoke up, grinning from ear to ear. The drug had made her go even more delusional and now she could see a March Hare, a mouse, a talking white rabbit and a Mad Hatter all sitting around her.

"I mean, I... I feel fine." Robin answered. "I feel normal."

"Yeah, I feel- I feel fine. I kinda feel good."

"I feel topsy-turvy." Cat frowned. "Everything has been so queer today. Oh, good morning to you, White Rabbit."

They all chuckled.

"Wanna know a secret?" Robin grinned.

"What?"

"I like it, too!" She laughed. "I feel good."

"Morons. They messed up the drug."

"They messed it up! Morons." She yelled. "Hey, morons!"

"Morons!" Steve called, joining in.

"Oh, no. There's definitely something wrong with us."

"Something's wrong." Steve laughed.

The buzzer sounded and the Russian soldiers re-entered the room. The General stood in front of Steve, waiting for the doctor to prepare his equipment.

"Oh, Cheshire, I've got to go. The Queen really wants my head and I shan't give it to her." Cat mumbled apologetically to no one in particular.

"Would now be a good time to tell you that I don't like doctors?" Robin asked as the doctor picked up a couple of sharp tools.

"Let's try this again, yes?" The General asked Steve. "Who do you work for?"

"Scoops." Steve chuckled. "Scoops Ahoy."

Robin giggled.

"How did you find us?" The Russian asked.

"Totally by accident." Steve answered, chuckling.

"Больше лжи." _{More lies}_. He said to his comrades.

The doctor picked up one of his shiny, sharp tools.

"What is that shiny little toy?"

"Where are you going with that, doc?"

The doctor ignored them, crossing the room towards Catherine.

"So, if I eat this, I'll grow taller, and if I eat that, I'll shrink to the size of an ant?" She mumbled, lost in her own head.

When the doctor reached Catherine and began to attach the device to her fingers, the other two started to protest.

"There was a code!" Robin yelled, not wanting her friend to be tortured. "We heard a code!"

"Code." The General stated, walking around the pair to face her. "What code?"

"'The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west'. Blah, blah, blah. You broadcast that stupid spy shit all over town, and we picked it up on our Cerebro, and we cracked it in a day. A day! You think you're so smart, but a couple of kids who scoop ice-cream for a living and teach children cracked your code in a day, and now, people know you're here."

"Who knows we are here, little bitch?" The Russian spat.

"Uh, well, Dustin knows." Steve told them.

"Hey, Steve?" Robin tried to warn him.

"Yeah, Dustin Henderson, he knows." He continued, ignoring Robin.

"Steve!" Robin groaned as the teen laughed.

"Dustin Henderson." The General stated, pacing back around towards Steve. "Is this your small, curly-haired friend?"

"Oh, curly-haired. Great hair. Small. Kind of like a 'fro. Yeah." Steve grinned.

"Where is he?"

"He's long gone, you big asshole. And he's probably calling Hopper, and Hopper's calling the US cavalry." He laughed. "They're gonna come in here, commando-style, guns a-blazin', and kick your sorry asses back to Russia. You're gonna be two pieces of toast." He snickered.

The General leaned down in Steve's face, a menacing looking washing over his features. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Steve answered, him and Robin bursting into laughter.

An alarm started blaring and Steve shrugged his shoulders at the soldiers, as if to say 'I told you so.'

Not a moment after the General had left to inspect the problem, Dustin and Erica charged in, the former zapping the doctor with some long electrical weapon.

"Hey! Henderson!" Steve cheered while Erica untied him and Robin, the boy in question helping his sister out of her binds. "That's crazy, I was just talking about you."

Dustin helped Catherine stand from her chair and ran over to help untie the other two. Cat immediately started swaying, muttering more nonsense to herself.

"But I can't have afternoon tea. Why, it's barely eleven o'clock. That's far too early." She mumbled.

"What the hell is up with her?" Erica asked. "She's all loopy."

"Get ready to run." Dustin instructed, sending a glance in his sister's direction. She looked like she was talking to someone, someone invisible and perched on the small table.

***

** A/N: **

_Rather short chapter, sorry. Isolation and social distancing is messing up the brain cell a bit._

***

_Edited: 27/07/2020_


	64. FIFTY NINE; The Bite

Dustin and Erica hurried the three teens into the back of the small cart they had stolen. Cat stumbled along behind them, gripping onto Steve's arm.

"Where are we going?" She asked, looking around her as Dustin tried to get her to climb in the cart. "Are we going to Wonderland? I heard it's wonderful this time of year." She giggled as she sat down, resting her head on Steve's shoulder.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Dustin answered, closing the doors and hurrying to the drivers seat. He put the cart into drive and began speeding down the endless tunnel.

"Jesus, slow down!" Steve slurred, gripping tightly onto Cat's arm. She was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, although she was unsure why.

"Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?" Robin slurred.

"It's the Indy 300." Steve argued.

"No, dingus, it's 500!"

"It's 300!"

"Let's say a million." Robin said before the two burst out into laughter.

"I bet I could do a million impossible things before breakfast." Cat grinned. She sneezed unexpectedly and snowflakes started forming around her. "Ooh, those are pretty." She smiled, looking rather deranged.

Up front in the passenger seat, Erica turned to Dustin. "What is wrong with them?"

"I don't know." He answered, focusing on the tunnel in front of him.

Erica looked behind her. "Is part of your sister's powers to be able to create ice and snow?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because she sneezed and now has snowflakes floating around her head."

Dustin wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Dustin, watch out!" Erica yelled as they crashed into a wall.

"Shit." Dustin swore. He turned to the others in the back. "You guys all right back there?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Have you seen my friend the White Rabbit anywhere? It's just, I must invite him to tea." Cat answered, creating a small, floating teapot out of snow.

Dustin shared a concerned look with Erica before the two climbed out the front seats and walked round the cart to let the others out. He unhooked the door to reveal the three teens all slumped over. "Come on. We gotta go, now."

"Are we going to visit the Mad Hatter?" Cat asked as she hopped out. "He is lovely." She paused for a moment, sneezing and accidentally creating a small flurry around her. "Oh, I must go see Cheshire. He'll know which way to go."

The two other teens tumbled out the back of the cart while Dustin used the stolen keycard to unlock the door.

Somewhat excitedly, Cat skipped into the lift and began talking to an imaginary figure on one of the shelves.

"Didn't she have a broken leg earlier?" Erica asked as Dustin pressed the buttons, the doors closing behind them all.

The lift shot up and Steve stood on the trolley that the Russians used to carry the boxes. He pretended to surf while Robin moved the trolley back and forth.

"Hey! You look like you're surfing!"

"Surfing! Yeah!"

"Oh, I think I went surfing once." Cat grinned, turning towards the two. "Yes, with the White Rabbit."

"The what?" Erica asked her, utterly confused.

Catherine climbed onto the trolley so she was standing next to Steve. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned all her weight on him.

"They seem drunk." Erica stated to Dustin.

"Why would they be drunk?"

"I'm a natural!" Steve yelled, waving his arms about while Cat clung to him. "Check it out!"

Robin yanked the platform out from under their feet and the couple went flying to the floor. They landed at Dustin's feet, Catherine being squished by Steve.

"Wipeout!"

"Woah!" Cat yelled while Robin laughed. "Are we in Wonderland yet?"

"No," Dustin sighed, slightly freaked out by his sister's state, "we are not."

Catherine frowned and small chunks of ice shot out from her one hand that wasn't trapped underneath Steve. "Oh."

Dustin crouched down by the pair and placed his hand on Steve's forehead. "He's burning up."

"You're burning up." Steve fired back.

Dustin took a closer look at the older boy's eyes. "His pupils are super dilated." He told Erica.

"Maybe he's drugged. Catherine certainly seems like she is."

"Boop!" Steve said, reaching up to poke Dustin's nose.

Cat giggled.

Dustin patted Steve's face. "Steve, Kit, are you two drugged?"

Cat opened her mouth in shock. "I would never!" She exclaimed, although she had purposely gotten high a couple of times before.

"How many times, Dad? I don't _do_ drugs. It's only marijuana." He poked Dustin's nose again.

Cat leaned her head up slightly and whispered in Steve's ear. "Babe, that's a drug. Remember, we smoked it at your house once and your dad went MENTAL!" She laughed, her head falling back onto the metal floor.

"This isn't funny, okay?" Dustin scolded the two. "I need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us."

"Boop." Steve said again, poking Dustin's nose.

"We all die, my strange little child friend." Robin spoke up from where she was sat on the red trolley. "It's just a matter of how... and when."

Dustin stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. He turned back to Steve. "They're gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car."

"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?"

"I would kill for a hot dog on a stick." Robin added.

"March Hare says he would like some tea, too. Oh, and I wouldn't mind a jam sandwich or two." Cat looked up to the shelves and waved at someone invisible. Erica stared at her, not believing how strange the teen was- even for someone on drugs.

"All right. Yeah, food. Yes, you can have as much food as you want," Dustin looked to his sister, "even the March Hare, too, I guess. But only if you tell me where your car is parked."

"Uh-oh." Steve said.

"Uh-oh?"

"The car's off the board."

"What?"

"They took the keys." He pulled his pockets inside out. "The Russians, they took the keys. Like, forever ago."

Both Robin and Catherine burst out laughing.

"That's a bummer, right?" Cat questioned.

***

After a while of giggling and making nonsense, the lift full of three high teenagers and two sober (not to mention, sensible) kids arrived back at ground level. Dustin and Erica pushed the doors open as they stepped outside.

Catherine started skipping, grabbing Steve's hand and swinging it. Robin walked along next to her, her mouth open and her tongue sticking out.

"Oh, my God, that tastes so good. Ah! Steve, Cathy, can you taste the air?"

Steve twirled Cat around, the two sporting wide grins on their faces. "I taste it! I taste it!"

"It tastes like Wonderland out here!" Cat yelled. "Dusty, are you sure that we're not in Wonderland, because I think we are." She glanced down to her feet. "In fact, Mr. March Hare says we are."

Up ahead, Dustin and Erica spotted two Russians soldiers. The soldiers spotted them and began running towards the group, yelling at them.

"Shit!" Dustin swore, grabbing Erica and turning around. "Come on! Come on!" They both ran back towards the mall, grabbing the teen's hands and running through one of the back entrances.

"Why are we running?" Steve yelled, his hand holding tightly onto Cat's.

"Is it the Queen?" Cat asked, her voice oddly soft for their current situation. "Has she found us? Oh, I just knew she wanted my head."

***

_Edited: 27/07/2020_

** A/N: **

_Hey guys,_ _I_ _hope_ _you_ _are enjoying_ _this_ _book._ _I'm_ _just here to say that unfortunately there aren't that many chapters left for me to publish (that is until we get season 4)._

_Also,_ _I_ _turned 19 yesterday so_ _that's_ _absolutely bonkers._


	65. SIXTY; The Bite

"Where are we going?" Erica yelled at Dustin as they all ran through the back corridors of the mall.

"Just trust me."

They snuck through one of the doors leading to the cinema and Dustin lead them all into a random screening. Cat frowned in disgust as Steve pulled a box of popcorn from the trash.

"Ew, babe." She pulled the box out of his hands, shovelling a small handful in her mouth before discarding the rest on the floor. Dustin lead them through another set of doors and she couldn't help but stare in wonder at the movie playing on the screen. Steve had to drag her along behind him so she wouldn't get left behind.

"You two, sit." Dustin whispered harshly to Steve and Robin.

The two sat down, Steve pulling Catherine onto his lap. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head on his chest.

"No, no, no! These seats are two close!" Robin complained.

"Dude, these seats blow." Steve hissed.

"I like them." Cat smiled, curling her feet up on Steve's lap.

"Then don't watch the movie." Dustin hissed.

"We wanna watch it."

"Then watch it!"

The guy sat behind them 'shhed' them and Robin 'shhed' him back. Cat lifted her middle finger at the guy and mumbled something about telling him to fuck off.

"Whatever you do, don't... go... anywhere." Dustin instructed them.

"Fine, Dad." Steve whispered sarcastically.

Robin snickered. Catherine focused all her attention back on the movie, she was absolutely captivated, as Dustin and Erica made their way to the other end of the row.

"Okay, it's official." Dustin sighed as the two younger kids took their seats. "I'm never having kids."

"What are we doing her?" Erica asked him, confused by the plan.

"We're laying low. Cooling off. Like Oswald."

"Oswald was found in a theatre and shot to death." Erica reminded him.

"A week later." Dustin pointed out.

"The point it, his plan didn't work."

"Only because it was a setup."

"What?"

"He was just a patsy."

"Tell me you're joking."

The woman in the row behind them hissed at them to be quiet. The two 'shhed' her before going back to their conversation.

"We need to get outta here."

"All right, you watch Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Cheshire." Dustin instructed, looking over at the three drugged teens. "Make sure they don't go anywhere. Or that Kit does anything stupid."

"Where are you going?" Erica asked, watching as he stood up from his seat.

"To find us a ride." Dustin answered, pulling the radio from Erica's backpack.

***

Not that long later, Steve muttered to them something about being bored. Cat wasn't paying attention, missing Robin suggest that they go for a walk. They stood up from their seats, Steve carrying Cat, and exited the movie theatre. They wandered the mall for a short while until they found a water fountain. Steve placed Catherine on the ground and used the fountain first. Cat sat crossed-legged on the floor, watching him drink the water, while Robin leant against the wall.

"So, like, I wasn't totally focused in there or anything, but... I'm pretty sure... that mom was trying to bang her son." Robin voiced to the others.

"Wait, wait, the hot chick was Alex P. Keaton's mom?" Steve asked, lifting his head up from the water fountain.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"They were both pretty hot." Cat smiled, playing with a stray strand of her hair.

"But they're the same age." Steve pointed out, completely disregarding his girlfriend's comment.

"No, but he went back in time." Robin explained.

Steve snickered. "Then why is it called _Back to the Future_?"

"He has to go _back_ to the future because he's in the past." Robin explained.

"Yeah." Cat agreed. "So, technically, the future is actually the present, which is his time."

Steve was quiet for a moment as Robin clicked her fingers in Cat's direction, excited that the brunette was on the same wavelength as her.

"Wh.. What?"

"No, no, it's my turn." Robin pushed Steve away from the fountain. "You've had enough." She began to drink the refreshing water.

Steve stumbled a little way over to where Catherine sat in the middle of the floor. He stared up at the ceiling, the lights all blurring together. "Wow."

Cat looked over at him. "What?"

"The lights."

Catherine laid down on the floor, her eyes fixed on the lights above her. "Oh, those are pretty."

"Hey, Robin." Steve called. "You gotta check this out."

Robin finished with the water fountain and rushed over to Steve. She, too, stared up at the lights.

"Check this... This... The ceiling, it's beautiful."

"Oh, wow."

The three teens were mesmerized by the lights, unable to tear their gazes away from them.

Until they began to feel sick.

The three teens raced to the bathroom, Cat straggling behind them as she stumbled to her feet. They threw themselves into three different stalls and emptied the contents of their stomachs into them.

"Oh, God..." Cat groaned, clutching her stomach. "I hope I never have to throw up like this again, ever." She coughed and a few snowflakes left her mouth and floated into the toilet bowl. "What the hell?"

***

Once they had all finished throwing up, Steve slid under the wall and into Catherine's stall to check on her.

"You okay?"

She shrugged. "Everything today has been... strange. Not like this time of year isn't weird normally, you know? Usually, I'm sat at home with Mom and Dustin watching whatever random movie is showing on the T.V and thinking about Dad. But this," she gestured around her, "this takes a whole new level."

Steve pulled her into his arms, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You ever think of leaving town?"

"Maybe? I don't think I could leave my Mom or Dustin or El, though."

Steve nodded in understanding.

"The ceiling stopped spinning for me." Robin said from her stall. She was lying on her back with her legs propped up against the door. "Is it still spinning for you two?"

Cat glanced up. "Um, no. But I think I can still see a White Rabbit. You know, like the one from Alice in Wonderland."

"Holy shit." Steve said, also looking up at the ceiling. "No."

"You think that maybe we puked it all up?" Cat asked, trying to ignore the White Rabbit sat over by the sink.

"Maybe. Why don't one of you ask me something?" Robin suggested. Then, in a Russian accent, she said, "interrogate me."

"Okay. Interrogate you. Sure." Steve said, sitting up straighter and moving Cat's hair away from his face. "Um... When was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?"

"Oh, that's a good one." Cat smiled.

"Today." Robin answered.

"What?" Both Steve and Catherine asked, the latter's head shooting up from Steve's chest.

"When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw." Robin explained.

"Oh, my God." Steve laughed.

Catherine giggled. "Wow, Ro. Seriously?"

"Yeah." Robin laughed. "It was just a little bit, though."

"Yeah, it's definitely still in our system." Cat muttered, glancing over to the sink. _Why was the White Rabbit not leaving her alone? Was it some sort of omen?_

Robin sat herself up, leaning her back against the wall. "Oh... All right, my turn."

"Okay. Hit me." Steve told her.

"Have you..." Robin paused for a moment, thinking back to the conversation she shared a few weeks ago with Catherine, "ever been in love?"

"Yep. Nancy Wheeler." Steve answered. "First semester, senior year." He imitated a gunshot.

Cat closed her eyes. It still stung, knowing that her boyfriend had dated one of her best friends. But to know that he had been in love with her... that crushed her heart.

"Oh, my God." Robin muttered. "She's such a priss."

"Turns out, not really."

Robin scoffed. "Are you still in love with Nancy?" She asked, knowing that Catherine was probably to scared to ask herself.

"No." Steve answered, running his fingers through Cat's messy hair.

"Why not?"

"I think it's because I found someone who's a little bit better for me. Someone who I should have noticed a lot sooner. This girl, she's brilliant, amazing. She's one of the coolest people I've ever known. And I'm an idiot for leaving our friendship behind in order to be popular." He sighed and looked down at Catherine. "I'm in love with her. So desperately in love with her."

Tears in her eyes, Cat lifted her head to look at Steve. "I'm in love with you too." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you so much. And yes, you are an idiot. But you're my idiot." She laughed and connected her lips to his.

Steve smiled against her lips. "I'll always be your idiot. Forever and always."

"Forever and always." Catherine repeated, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

Robin slid herself under the wall separating her from the other two. "You guys are so cute... it makes me sick."

Cat pulled away from Steve slightly so as to not make Robin feel alone. "Ro, the floor's disgusting."

"There's already blood and puke on my clothes so..." Robin pointed out. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. "Look... today I found out that my new best friend has powers and you just confessed your feelings to each other, so I guess it's my turn. It's shocked me to my core, but I like you. Both of you. But I'm not like your other friends."

Cat shuffled closer to Robin. Something told her that she knew what Robin was about to say. "Have you met my friends?" She scoffed. "None of them are normal."

A smile briefly grazed Robin's face before it quickly disappeared. "Steve, do you remember what I said about Click's class?"

Cat furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, having been hallucinating during the events following their capture.

"About me being jealous and, like, obsessed?" Robin continued. Steve nodded. "It isn't because I had a crush on you. It's because... she wouldn't stop staring at you."

"Mrs. Click?" Steve asked stupidly.

Catherine gently shook her head. She placed her hand on Robin's, quietly showing her that she was there for her.

Robin nodded her head slightly at Cat, showing her that she was okay. "Tammy Thompson. I wanted her to look at _me_. But... she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag. And- And you didn't even like her and... I would go home... and just scream into my pillow."

"But Tammy Thompson's a girl."

"Steve..." Cat whispered, glancing over to her boyfriend.

"Oh." He uttered, realising what Robin was trying to say.

"Oh." Robin repeated.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah. Holy shit."

"Steve..." Cat whispered, moving her gaze from her best friend to her boyfriend, "did you OD over there?"

"No, I just, uh... just thinking."

"Okay." Robin muttered, clearly worried about his reaction.

"I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she's cute and all, but... I mean, she's a total dud."

"Exactly." Cat agreed.

"She is not." Robin disagreed.

"Yes, she is. She wants to be, like, a singer." Steve argued.

Cat nodded. "She wants to move to, like Nashville or some shit."

"Cathy, we've talked about this. She has dreams." Robin defended,

"She can't even hold a tune."

Cat gestured to Steve as if to say he had a point. "She's practically tone-deaf, Ro. Have you ever heard her?"

Robin chuckled and Steve did his impression of Tammy Thompson singing. Cat started laughing so hard she had to rest her head on Steve's shoulder.

"She does not sound like that." Robin laughed.

"She sounds exactly- That's a great impersonation of her."

"She does not sound like that." Robin argued. "You sound like a muppet."

Cat couldn't help but to burst into even more laughter. "Oh, my God. You are so right."

"But _she_ sounds like a Muppet. She sounds like a Muppet giving birth." Steve laughed. He began to sing like Kermit the frog, both of the girls joining in. The three of them laughed hysterically, not stopping when Dustin and Erica burst into the bathroom.

"Okay. What the hell?" Dustin yelled, sounding very annoyed with the three teenagers.

***

_Edited 04/08/2020_


	66. SIXTY ONE; The Bite

"Hey. Hey." Joyce Byers pulled on Jim Hopper's arm to grab his attention as they walked through the Fourth of July fair. "Karen." She stated, spotting Karen Wheeler and her husband Ted taking their youngest-Holly- on one of the rides. She raced across the grass and boarded the ride, Hopper right behind her. "Hey, Karen." Joyce called out as she approached the woman.

"Joyce!" Karen greeted, a large smile sporting her face. "Oh, my gosh! How funny to see you here!"

"Where are the kids?" Joyce asked, skipping straight to the point.

"I... I haven't seen them. I don't think they're here yet."

"You three, up against the wall!" The lady who was operating the ride yelled.

"No, where are they?" Hopper asked.

"Oh, my gosh, I can hardly keep track these days. Uh, they were at, uh... Dustin and Catherine's, then Lucas's, then Max's. You know how it is. Summer!"

An alarm started blaring, signalling that the ride was about to begin.

"Probably getting into some kinda trouble." Ted said, oblivious to the current events their kids were involved in.

"Last warning, you two!" The operating lady yelled as the doors to the ride closed. "Up against the wall!"

"Hold the ride!" Hopper yelled back at her.

"On your life, Magnum." The lady said, pulling the lever that set the machine in motion. The machine fired up and both Joyce and Hopper were flung against the wall as the ride started spinning.

***

Some time later, once the movie had finished, Dustin pulled the bathroom door open and the group of five snuck out of the bathroom and into the crowd leaving the cinema. Dustin and Erica took the lead while the three bruised teens walked behind them. Catherine held tightly onto Steve's hand, not wanting to ever let go.

"Well, shit, that worked." Erica said to Dustin.

"Course it worked. Now, we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come."

"I cannot wait to go home." Cat said, swinging hers and Steve's connected hands. "It's been a long few days and I just wanna sleep."

"Uh, Cat, Dustin?" Steve said quietly.

"What?" The siblings asked, both looking at Steve.

"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house."

"What the fuck?!" Catherine whisper yelled.

"Why?" Dustin asked.

"Well, I might've told them Dustin's full name." Steve admitted.

"Oh, my God..." Cat groaned. "You idiot."

"What is wrong with you?" Dustin whispered harshly.

"Dude, I was drugged. We were all drugged. Catherine here was mumbling nonsense about Wonderland."

"At least I didn't spill personal information." She huffed.

"So, you resist." Dustin told the older boy. "You tough it out. You tough it out like a man."

"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say." Steve fired back as the group rounded a corner.

"Guys?" Robin called, her eyes set dead ahead of them. She pulled the back to stop them from walking any further.

A few feet ahead of them, were two men- all in black- and they were checking everybody out. They were looking for them.

"Shit." Cat muttered, her hand gripping even tighter to Steve's.

"Abort." Dustin instructed, just as the Russians spotted them. "Abort. Abort."

The five of them quickly turned around and began running against the current of the crowd. The reached the escalators were roped off. They were stuck. 

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Cat muttered, looking behind her at the Russians, worry evident on her face. Steve tugged on her hand, pulling her attention away from the Russians. She followed the others and slid down the gap between the two escalators, Steve right behind her. When they reached the bottom, Steve grabbed Catherine's hand they raced alongside the others, desperate to find somewhere to hide.

***

They were hidden, crouched down behind the counter of one of the food stalls. The Russian was saying something into his radio, not that any of the kids could understand his words.

"I have to do something." Cat whispered.

"What?"

"A distraction."

"What? No way." Steve whispered, gripping onto her arm. "I'm not gonna risk losing you."

"I'll be fine." Catherine argued. "If these new powers are anything to go by... We can escape." She nodded to the others and slowly let go of Steve's hand. "I've got this." She muttered to herself. Slowly, she stood up from her crouched position. She climbed onto the counter and stood up straight. "Oi, Commie bastards!" She yelled, letting out a whistle. "Over here, dickheads!"

The Russians raised their guns at her and began firing. Cat wasn't sure what new powers she had, exactly, or how to control them. So, she improvised. She shot her hands out as the bullets fired at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve whisper yelled at her, his eyes fixed on his girlfriend. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

The bullets seemed to bounce off and invisible force as they neared her, before clattering to the ground. The Russians stared at her in confusions, but never ceased their fire.

"I've got this. You've got this." Cat muttered to herself. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she focused. She could feel the power coursing through her veins. She could feel it as it reached her finger tips. "Here we go." She muttered, yelling in excitement as she shot blasts of ice at the Russians.

She sported a huge grin on her face as she changed the shape of the ice that she threw. She threw snowballs at the soldiers, laughing as she made them into rabbits, march hares and even Cheshire cats.

Catherine Henderson was having way too much fun using her powers against the Russians to notice that one of them had hidden himself in a darker corner of the mall. She didn't see him as he pulled the trigger of his gun. She didn't see the bullets flying through the air towards her.

Cat stumbled backwards as one of the bullets lodged itself into her leg. She fell backwards off the counter and landed with a loud 'thud' onto the floor.

"Holy shit." Steve pulled Cat into his arms. He looked down at her leg, worry etched all over his features. "Are you okay?" He shook his head. "Stupid question, sorry." He started to freak out.

"She healed herself earlier. Can't she do that now?" Robin asked, putting pressure on Catherine's leg to stop the bleeding.

"I- I don't know." Cat mumbled. "I'm not really sure how to control any of this."

"Well, learn. I don't want you to die. Please don't die, babe." Steve pulled Cat closer to his body, the fear of losing her coursing through him.

Behind them, the alarm built into the show car started blaring, causing the group to jump. Cat closed her eyes and concentrated. In her minds eye, she pictured her wounded leg, she pictured the bullet removing itself, the bleeding slowing down and the skin closing up. Her skin began to tingle. She could feel something happening, although she was unsure as to what. 

"Holy shit." Dustin whispered. "Holy shit."

Cat slowly opened her eyes to see that the bullet had removed itself from her leg. The blood had slowed but hadn't stopped completely. "Steve," she muttered, "I need you to rip the sleeve off my shirt."

"But, it's your favourite top." Steve said.

"I know. I know. But I don't have the energy to care, neither the energy to do it myself."

While Steve tore the sleeve from Cat's t-shirt and helped her wrap it around her leg wound, the other three glanced over the top of the counter to see the red car lift into the air and go flying into the Russian soldiers. They looked up to the balcony of the second floor to see Eleven standing there, blood dripping from her nose. Just behind her stood their other friends.

Steve helped Catherine stand and tears of joy began to cascade down her cheeks at the sight of her sister. Catherine grinned up at her younger sister and El grinned back.

After a few moments, the others started to make their way to the elevators- Mike helping El walk. The Scoops Troop climbed over the counter, with Steve and Robin helping Cat.

"You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin laughed as he raced over to his friends in the middle of the mall.

Catherine was a little further behind. Just like El, she was limping and had to have support in order to actually walk. "El, that was awesome!" She called out, sending a huge grin over at the younger girl too.

"You were awesome, too." El complimented once Cat and Steve had finally caught up with the others.

"You saw that?"

"Since when do you have ice powers?" Max asked.

"No idea." Cat shrugged.

The kids all shared a giant hug. Catherine pulled El into a giant hug.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God" She muttered, pulling away and moving El's hair out of her face. "You're alive. You're alive."

"Lucas?" Erica asked, spotting her older brother.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ask them." Erica told him, pointing over at Steve, Robin and Catherine, the latter finally letting go of El. "It's their fault."

"True, yeah. Totally true." Steve admitted, putting his arm back around Cat to help keep her upright. "It's absolutely our fault."

"I don't understand what happened to that car." Robin freaked out.

"El also has superpowers." Dustin explained.

"Kinda similar to mine, I guess." Cat shrugged.

"I'm sorry?" Robin asked, not quite understanding, even though her best friend also had strange powers.

"Superpowers. Like Cat. She threw it with her mind." Steve explained. "C'mon, catch up."

"That's El?" Erica asked, pointing over at her.

"Who's El?" Robin asked.

"My non-biological sister." Catherine answered.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked Robin.

"I'm Robin. I work with Steve."

"She and Kit cracked the top secret code." Dustin said.

"It was mainly Robin." Cat muttered.

"Which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place." Steve added.

"The goddamn Russians..." Cat angrily mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Russians?" Jonathan asked. "Wait, what Russians?"

"The Russians!" Steve yelled, pointing towards the limp bodies on the floor some way away from them.

"Those were Russians?" Max asked.

"Some of them." Erica answered.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked them.

"Didn't you hear my message?" Cat questioned.

"Yeah, but I didn't fully understand what you were saying and then the line got cut off." Nancy explained.

"Fuck." Catherine groaned, running a frustrated hand through her matted hair.

"What about our code red?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah. But I couldn't understand half of what you were saying." Mike told him.

"Goddamn low battery." Dustin cursed.

"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?" Steve scolded.

"Well, everything worked out, didn't it?" Dustin fired at him.

"No!" Steve yelled. "Your sister nearly got killed!"

"I'm fine." Cat interjected.

They continued arguing about the Russians and the gate until there was a 'thump' from behind them. They all turned their heads to see Eleven crumpled on the ground, her hands covering her ears.

"Oh, my God." Cat rushed as fast as she could over to El. "El, are you okay?"

Mike crouched down beside El as the others crowded around. "What's wrong?"

"My leg." El whimpered. "My leg."

Cat pulled El's head into her leg as the others all turned their gaze to her leg. "It's gonna be okay." She whispered comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay." Cat didn't dare look at El's leg. She couldn't bare to see what was causing the younger girl so much pain.

***

_Edited: 04/08/2020_


	67. SIXTY TWO; The Battle of Starcourt

El continued to scream and sob in pain as the others desperately tried to calm her down. The thing in her leg seemed to be moving and when Cat finally took a look at it, she felt like she might vomit.

"What is that?" Erica asked as the thing beneath El's leg kept moving.

"There's something in there." Mike said.

"Way to state the obvious." Cat snapped as she ran her fingers through El's hair.

"Keep her talking. Keep her awake, okay?" Jonathan instructed, standing up.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Catherine asked him. She didn't get a reply as Jonathan raced off to grab the supplies he needed for the improvised operation.

She and the others helped El to sit up, the younger girl's head resting on Catherine's chest.

"You know, it's not actually that bad. There was a... The goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee, six inches or something, it was insane." Robin rambled, the whole group just staring at her.

"Robin." Steve said.

"Yeah?"

"You're not helping."

"I'm sorry."

Jonathan came running back over, holding a knife and a wooden spoon. "Okay. All right, El?" He crouched down by her leg. "This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?"

El sobbed and nodded her head. "Okay."

"Need you to stay real still." Jonathan added as he put on a pair of clear plastic gloves. "Hey, you're gonna want to bite down on this, okay?" He handed a wooden spoon to Mike, who was sat by El's head. The younger boy placed the spoon in between El's teeth.

Jonathan hesitated as he hovered the knife above El's leg.

"Do it." Mike said.

Jonathan began the operation to remove the thing living under El's skin. Cat screwed her eyes shut, unable to look. After a few minutes of El screaming in pain, she told them that she could do it. Catherine helped her sit up straighter. They all watched as El used her telekinesis to pull the thing from inside her leg. She was screaming intensely as she did so. The glass wall behind them shattered and Cat was quick to protect El from the small pieces of glass that flew everywhere, not caring if herself became injured. El continued screaming as she pulled the slimy creature from her leg and hovered it in mid-air for a few moments before throwing it across the mall.

The creature tried to scuttle away. But it only got a few centimetres before a boot stepped on it, crushing the creature completely.

Cat moved her gaze up the body of the new arrival, her eyes eventually landing on their face. They had reinforcements. Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers had arrived, along with some nearly bald man whom Catherine didn't recognise.

"Holy shit." Cat mumbled as she stared at the three adults.

***

The group, finally all together, gathered in the middle of Starcourt Mall and listened as Mike told them about the Mind Flayer. Catherine was sat on the edge of the fountain, Steve next to her with his arm around her shoulder. Cat was holding onto El's hand, the younger girl sat the other side of her with Hopper.

"The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to stop Catherine, to kill them and pave a way into our world." Mike said.

"Wait," Cat sat up straighter, "kill me? Why?"

"We think it's linked to when you tried to help Will, that day on the field." Lucas explained.

"Then why the fuck hasn't it killed me already?" Cat asked. "Or at least tried."

"Maybe it's because it couldn't find you." Max suggested. "It couldn't get to you because you were trapped underground with the Russians."

Catherine nodded.

"It almost did." Nancy added. "It nearly did kill El, while you were fighting the Russians." She gestured to Catherine, Steve and Robin. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

"How big is this thing?" Hopper asked.

"It's big." Jonathan answered.

"No shit." Cat muttered. "But how big, exactly?"

"Thirty feet, at least." Jonathan told them.

"Jesus Christ." Catherine muttered.

"Yeah. It sorta destroyed your cabin." Lucas told Hopper. "Sorry." He added, his voice quieter.

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this... this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, and wants to kill my girlfriend, it's some kind of gigantic... weapon?" Steve asked.

"Yes." Nancy clarified.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon... with melted people."

"Yes, exactly."

"Yeah, okay. I- Yeah, I'm just making sure." Steve said, running his fingers through Catherine's hair.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce asked from where she sat on the other side of Hopper.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max told her.

"But, if we close the gate again-" Will started.

"We cut the brain off from the body." Max continued.

"And kill it." Lucas added. "Theoretically."

"Yoo-hoo!" The bald man, Cat had learnt was called Murray, yelled, running through the mall towards them. "Yoo-hoo!" He waved the pieces of paper he held at them. When he reached them, he placed the papers on one of the tables. The group gathered around him as he explained. "Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub'." He pointed to part of the map. "Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper asked, leaning over Murray's shoulder.

"Right here." Murray pointed to another part of the map. "I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe fifty feet or so." He pointed back and forth between the two locations.

"Wrong." Cat called, sitting in a chair and leaning back as she rested her feet on a nearby table.

"More like five-hundred." Erica said, stepping forward. Murray stared at her, not knowing what to say. "What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

"She's right." Cat mouthed at the adults.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Murray asked them.

"Catherine Henderson, at your service." Cat answered, complete with a salute.

"Erica Sinclair." Erica told him. "Who are you?"

"Murray... Bauman."

"Listen, Mr. Bunman," Erica said, seeming to speak with every sarcastic bone in her body, "I'm not trying to tell you how do to things, but I've been down in that shithole for twenty-four hours. And with all due respect," she turned to Hopper, "you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."

"Correct." Catherine called, her face sporting a grin.

"I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?"

"Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!"

"Erica!" Lucas chided.

"Just the facts!"

"She's right." Dustin spoke up from where he stood behind Erica. "You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me. Sorry, may I?" He asked, gesturing to the map.

"Please." Murray said, annoyed that a couple of kids were telling him what to do.

Both Dustin and Erica took a seat at the table, the former pulling the papers towards him. "Okay, see this room here?" Dustin asked, pointing on the map. "This is a storage facility." He circled it with a pencil. "There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system." He drew a line across the paper. "That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way."

"No." Cat said. "I'm not letting you go down there again." She said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry." Dustin told her. "They can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be their... navigators."

"No." Hopper said. "I agree with Catherine." He gestured to the girl. "Neither of you are going down there."

***

The group had moved since coming up with a plan. The adults were preparing to venture underground and shut off the gate. Catherine sat with El, telling the younger girl about her adventure.

"So, what happened?" El asked.

"Well, we were interrogated in separate rooms. The General fucked me up pretty bad, I guess. He threatened to kill me and then my powers went haywire and from then on everything's blurry. I think we were drugged?..."

"Haywire?" El asked.

"Crazy. I managed to heal a knife wound and a broken leg but my nose is still broken. And, apparently, I can make snow and ice." Cat smiled. "Wanna see?" El nodded. Catherine closed her eyes and concentrated. When her eyes opened again, there were snowflakes swirling around her.

"That's so cool." Robin said, coming over and sitting next to the two. "I still can't believe you can do that."

Cat laughed. "I can't believe I can do that."

"Hey, heads up." Hopper called, walking towards the party and throwing Dustin a walkie-talkie. "You can navigate, just from someplace safe."

"Now, that's an idea I can get on board with." Cat grinned, standing up and walking with El over to the others.

"It's not that simple." Dustin said, sending an eyeroll to his sister.

"The signal won't reach." Erica added.

"Not with this." Dustin said, talking about the radios they were holding. "You need something with a high enough frequency band to relay with the Russians' radio tower. But for that to work, you need someone who has both seen their comms room and has access to a super-powered handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins. Oh, wait. That's me."

"Look at you, picking up on the sarcasm." Cat grinned. "Proud of ya, Dusty."

"Don't call me that." He turned away from his sister and back to Hopper. "If you want us to navigate, you got us. But we need a head start." He shared a quick look with Erica. "And a car."

Hopper handed a pair of car keys to Steve. "Fine."

Cat and El shared a hug, with promises to stay safe and see each other soon. Then Catherine bounded over to Hopper, forgetting that she had a small hole in her leg. She wrapped her arms around Hopper. "See ya 'round, Chief." As she walked away, backwards, she sent a salute and a wave in his direction.

***

Steve pushed open the main doors to the mall and Catherine smiled as she felt the fresh air.

"Oh, man, now this..." Steve said as they caught sight of the car. He tossed the keys in the air and caught them before the could hit the floor, "this is what I'm talking about!"

"'Toddfather'?" Robin asked, reading the number plate.

"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now."

"Oh, ew. Gross, babe." Cat cringed as she climbed in the middle front seat.

Steve jumped in after her, seating himself behind the wheel as he was the only one with a licence.

"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?" Robin asked him as she climbed in next to Cat.

"Did he just call himself daddy?" Erica asked as she and Dustin climbed into the backseats.

"All right, where are we going?" Steve asked Dustin as he inserted the keys into the ignition and started the engine.

"Weathertop."

"Weather-what?"

"Name's not important, babe. Just drive." Cat said as she patted his shoulder. Steve backed the car away from the mall and sped away from the carpark.

Nervous, Cat began to drum her fingernails against the dashboard to the beat of the music playing on the radio, which just happened to be _'Should I Stay or Should I Go'_ by The Clash.

***

_Edited: 04/08/2020_


	68. SIXTY THREE; The Battle of Starcourt

The car raced down the road as Steve drove them to their destination. Catherine nervously bounced her feet up and down as her fingers continued to drum on the dashboard. _'I Will Survive'_ was playing on the radio and Cat had subconsciously started singing quietly along with the song.

"Jesus, how far is this place, man?" Steve yelled over the music.

"Relax, we're almost there." Dustin said, leaning forward in his seat.

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin spoke, glancing behind her. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"

"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be."

"And, apparently, she's hotter than Phoebe Cates." Catherine added. "Nobody's hotter than Phoebe Cates."

"Well, I think you are." Steve told her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment so he could smile at his girlfriend.

"Aww. But as cute as that is, babe, you're wrong. Like I said, nobody's hotter than Phoebe Cates."

"She sound made-up to me." Erica said, leaning forward slightly. "She sound made-up to you?"

Neither of the three teens answered.

"Why are you hesitating? Steve? Kit?" Dustin asked.

"Not hesitating." Cat answered, bopping her head up and down to the new song that was playing. "Enjoying the music."

"Steve?" Dustin prompted, staring at the back of his sister's boyfriend's head.

"I'm- I'm- I'm not! I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."

"Left. Turn left." Dustin said suddenly, leaning his head forward, in between Catherine and Steve.

"There's not a road here."

"Turn left now!"

"Jesus! Hang on!" Steve yelled, turning the wheel sharply. The car crashed through a fence as Steve drove further up the hill at a fast pace.

"Holy shit!" Cat screamed, her hands pushing her hair out of her face.

"Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!" Steve yelled.

"Up!" Dustin replied, his voice just as loud.

The car continued up the hill at an alarming rate.

"We're not gonna make it!" Robin yelled.

"Oh, my God!" Cat screamed. "Oh, my God!"

"Come on, baby. Come on, baby!" Steve yelled at the car as he pushed harder on the gas pedal. They made it a few metres further before the engine started to strain and the car refused to drive any further.

"Guess the Toddfather had it's limitations." Robin observed.

Steve gave up with the car, turning the engine off a taking the keys out the ignition. They all climbed out of the car and finished the journey on foot.

***

"Bald Eagle, do you copy?" Dustin asked into the radio. The others all stood around him and the home-made radio tower. "Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?"

 _"Yes, I copy."_ Murray's voice came through the radio.

The group all chuckled slightly in relief. Cat leaned down and pressed the button, speaking into the walkie. "Call sign?" She asked, knowing it would piss off the older man.

 _"Bald Eagle."_ Came the reply.

"Please repeat." Cat said, holding in her laughter.

 _"Bald Eagle. This is Bald Eagle."_ Murray repeated, his voice full of irritation.

"Copy that." Catherine chuckled, handing the radio back to her brother.

"Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle. What's your 20?"

_"We reached the vent. I'll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence."_

"Roger that, Bald Eagle. This is Scoops Troop, going radio silent. 10-10, over."

Catherine gently tugged Steve over to the edge of the hill, a little further away from the others. The two sat down side by side, Cat leaning her head on Steve's shoulder.

"So, you really think I'm hotter than Phoebe Cates?" She smiled and glanced up at him.

Steve took his eyes off the view of Hawkins and looked down at his girlfriend. "Of course. But, didn't you say that nobody could be hotter than her?"

Cat scoffed. "Yeah. But it's cute that you think I, plain, ol' Catherine Henderson, could be hotter than Phoebe Cates."

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes, just revelling in each others company.

"Would you ever leave this town?" Steve asked, breaking the comfortable silence. "I know we already kind of talked about it but we were still sort of drugged." He put his arm around her shoulders as she leant her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know..." Cat answered. "I mean, one day I'd like to. Sure." She thought for a moment. "But I doubt I'd feel comfortable leaving everyone behind. Besides, who else would save Hawkins if it wasn't for us?"

Steve couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Yeah. I suppose you've got a point."

"Maybe in a few years, when I've got a proper job and saved up a bit. Once this is all over. Then, maybe, I'd love to move to a city. Or to the coast."

"Maybe," Steve said, pausing for a moment, "maybe we could get a place together?"

"I'd love that." Catherine smiled, leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

The two sat together, enjoying each others company for a few more minutes before they headed back over to the rest of their team. They had just sat down in the grass next to Robin when a 'beep' sounded from the radio.

 _"Scoops Troop, this is... Hm. Bald Eagle. I've reached another junction."_ Murray's voice spoke to them.

"This is what?" Dustin asked.

"The fourth junction." Erica informed.

"All right, so if memory serves, this is right after the _My Little Pony_ thesis."

"The what?" Cat asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"We went left," Erica said, "so he has to go right."

"Right." Dustin re-iterated. "Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right."

_"Roger that, flying right."_

"What's the _My Little Pony_ thesis?" Robin asked.

Cat turned her attention to Steve, watching as he stood up and walked a little way away from them.

"Don't get him started." Erica muttered.

Cat stood up and made her way over to Steve. "What's so interesting to have caught your attention?" She asked, smirking as she rested her arm on his shoulder.

"That." He raised his arm and pointed to something in the distance.

"Oh." Cat's face fell as she followed his gaze, spotting the Mind Flayer on the roof of the mall. It had found them. "No, no, no."

"Hey, guys?" Steve called to the others. They moved away from the radio and moved over to where Steve and Catherine stood.

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening." Catherine muttered over and over as they raced back to the radio, desperate to get in contact with their friends.

"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop!" Dustin yelled into the device, panic evident in his voice. "Do you copy? Over!" They didn't receive an answer.

"Try again." Cat told him, shaking from worry.

Dustin nodded and tried again. "Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop. Do you copy?"

There was a shriek over the radio. Cat's face went pale as she realised what had made that sound. "Oh, God." She muttered. "Oh, God."

"Griswold Family, do you copy?" Dustin yelled into the radio. "Do you copy?!"

The only response was a loud roaring, courtesy of the Mind Flayer.

"Fuck." Cat mumbled as static emitted from the radio.

"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Please confirm your safety!" Dustin yelled.

"We have to do something." Cat said, determination laced somewhere in her voice amongst the panic. She stood up and began pacing back and forth. "We can't just stay here!"

"You're right." Steve said. He jumped up and grabbed her arm, pulling her along with him to the car.

"Where are you going?!" Erica screamed at them.

"To get them the hell outta there!" Steve yelled back, his hand gripping tightly to Cat's as they raced down the hill towards the car. "Stay here, contact the others!"

"Shit." Robin muttered, running after the two.

"Wait, Robin!" Dustin called to the older girl. She turned around to face him as he chucked her a spare radio. "Stay in touch."

"Got it." Robin caught the radio and raced towards the car. She hopped in the back seat just as Steve pulled away, beginning to speed down the hill and back towards the mall.

***

Steve sped the car into the carpark only for the three of them to see Billy's car speeding towards Nancy.

"Shit." Cat muttered. "What do we do?!"

"I've got an idea." Steve told them, slamming his foot harder on the gas. "Hold on." The car sped at what felt like a hundred miles per hour, flying through the dark parking lot until they began to near Billy's Camaro.

"Steve... We're gonna crash..." Catherine whispered warily, her hands gripping on tightly to the dashboard.

"That's the whole point."

Their fancy, stolen car crashed head first into Billy's, the latter's car spinning away from the teens.

"Holy shit." Catherine mumbled as the car suddenly came to a stop, spinning as it did so. "Holy shit." She watched, mouth agape, as flames rose from Billy's car.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked his two passengers.

"Ask me tomorrow?" Robin answered.

"If we make it out of this hell hole..." Catherine mumbled.

The three of them gasped, standing up in the car. In front of them, crawling over the roof of the mall, was the Mind Flayer. It looked like a giant, fleshy spider and Catherine had to fight the urge to vomit at the sight.

"Oh, shit." Robin mumbled.

A car horn tore them from their trance as Nancy yelled at them to climb in her car. Hurriedly, Robin, Steve and Cat jumped out of the sports car and ran over to the Wheeler's van, climbing into the cramped back. Jonathan drove them away from the mall and down the main road, leading the Mind Flayer away from the mall. Catherine looked around at the others in the vehicle, her eyes widening when she didn't see three of the kids.

"Where's El, Max and Mike?" She asked, panic arising in her voice with each word. "Where's El? Nancy, where's El?!"

Steve pulled her into his arms and started to try and calm her. Nothing good ever came from panicking.

"Oh, my God. She's still in the mall, isn't she?" She looked Steve dead in the eye. "Oh, God. Oh, God." Tears began to leak from her eyes as full panic set in. "We have to go back!"

"Nance," Steve called to the front of the van. "Some reassurance would be nice."

"Oh," Nancy whipped around in her seat as she looked back at Catherine. "They're gonna be fine." She plastered a smile on her face as she spoke to her friend. "She's going to be fine. We're leading the Mind Flayer away from them. They're going to be okay, Cat." She attempted to reassure.

Catherine nodded, but something told her that the night was just going to keep getting worse.

***

_Edited: 04/08/2020_


	69. SIXTY FOUR; The Battle of Starcourt

The rest of the car ride was pretty silent, other than Catherine's panicking. The radio in Robin's hand suddenly started crackling and a young girl's voice emitted from it.

_"Dusty-bun, you copy?"_

_"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks."_

All three of the teens that were squashed together in the back shared a look. "Suzie."

 _"Okay, so, listen,"_ They heard Dustin say. _"Do you know Planck's constant?"_

_"Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?"_

They heard Dustin snicker. _"Okay, so I know it starts with two sixes, and then a... W-What is it?"_

_"Okay, let me just be clear on this. I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can... save the world?"_

_"Suzie-poo,"_ Cat cringed at the nickname her brother had christened his first girlfriend with, _"I promise, I will make it up to you as soon as possible."_

_"You can make it up to me now."_

"Oh, my God." Catherine mumbled, burying her head in Steve's shoulder.

 _"What?"_ Dustin asked.

_"I want to hear it."_

"Oh, Lord..." Cat grumbled, somehow restraining herself from pulling out her hair.

 _"Not right now."_ It was clear that Dustin was panicking about whatever it was that Suzie wanted him to do.

_"Yes, now, Dusty-bun."_

_"Suzie-poo, this is urgent."_

_"Yes, yes, you're saving the world, I heard you the first time, but Ged is also saving Earthsea and he's about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie, signing off."_

"Oh, God. We're never gonna make it." Cat sighed, glancing worriedly to Steve and then Robin.

 _"Wait, wait, wait! Okay. Okay. Okay."_ There was a moment of silence before they all heard it. The song from the film Claudia Henderson made her two children watch one evening when the summer holidays had just started. Never Ending Story.

"Oh, my God..." Cat laughed, lifting her head up from Steve's shoulder as she listened to her younger brother sing a duet with his girlfriend. "You've got to be joking. Who has time to casually sing a song? The world is literally about to end."

 _"Planck's constant is 6.62607004."_ Suzie said once the pair had finally finished singing.

Catherine would have found their song cute if it wasn't for the fact that they were desperately trying to stop a terrifying creature from destroying the world.

 _"You just saved the world."_ They heard Dustin excitedly exclaim before the connection cut off and the only sound that remained was static.

They continued driving, leading the Mind Flayer a long way from the mall. For a while it seemed to be working until something happened and it began heading back towards Starcourt, a loud shriek leaving it's mouth as it did so.

"It's turning around." Steve yelled to Jonathan.

"What?" Nancy asked, whipping around in her seat.

"It's turning around." Steve yelled again.

"Maybe we wore it out." Lucas suggested.

A sinking feeling grew in Cat's stomach as she watched the Mind Flayer. "I- I don't think so." She gulped, a scream leaving her mouth as Jonathan did a sudden U-turn, flinging the three teens into one another.

They were the cat now chasing the mouse that was the Mind Flayer.

***

Jonathan pulled the car to an abrupt stop right outside the mall. Before he even had the chance to turn the engine off and put the handbrake on, Catherine had shoved open the door and jumped out the back. She raced through the entrance, the others tailing behind her with boxes of fireworks in their arms.

"Catherine, wait up!" Steve yelled after her.

Casting a brief glance over her shoulder, Cat shook her head. "No! I have to save them! I have to save El." She continued to sprint through the lower level of the mall, skidding to a stop when she saw Billy leaning over El's body. "No." She mumbled before raising her voice to a yell and striding closer to where Billy and the Mind Flayer stood. "Get away from her!"

The Mind Flayer let out a loud roar, turning his head towards her and opening it's mouth to reveal rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

She looked around her when she heard a quiet noise coming from behind one of the pillars. Now distracted from the beast, she turned away and moved closer to the pillar, jumping when a familiar white rabbit hopped out from behind it. She leaned closer out of curiosity as it began saying something. _Was she still hallucinating? Were there somehow still drugs circulating around in her body?_

With her back turned completely away from the Mind Flayer, the creature decided that it was the perfect opportunity to strike and take down its prey.

Just as the white rabbit opened its mouth to give her important information regarding the beast, one of the creature's tendrils wrapped itself around her leg and pulled her off the ground. Her face smacked against the floor before she was dragged backwards.

The Mind Flayer dangled her in front of its revolting face and let out a terrifying roar. Catherine shrieked as fireworks suddenly started going off around her.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" She just about heard Lucas yell before more fireworks were thrown.

"Let go of me!" Cat screamed as the Mind Flayer writhed around, in pain from the colourful explosions.

It teetered back and forth, screeching loudly as it did so. One of its legs crashed into a pillar, and its tendril that had a tight grip around Catherine's leg nearly flung her head first into a wall.

She screamed, focusing all her energy towards her leg. Her hands being free, she aimed her palms at the tendril and tried to use her telekinesis to free her leg from its death grip. Nothing happened other than a large stem of ice that begun to grow around her ankle like a vine.

Cat screamed in frustrations. It liked it cold and so she had no way of escaping. If only she could conjure something warm, like flames.

"Hey, asshole!" Steve yelled, trying to take the beast's attention away from Catherine while she struggled to break free. "Over here!" He threw a bunch of fireworks, hitting his target dead on.

The Mind Flayer writhed more and let go of its grip on Catherine, who consequently was thrown into a wall.

Her legs shaking and her head pounding, she stood up, using the wall behind her to help balance herself. She raised a tentative hand to her temple and felt the stickiness of the fresh blood that lay there. Quickly regaining her senses, she raced over to El and crouched down by her side.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her shaky, blood covered hands resting on the sides of El's face. "We need to get you out of here." Desperate for a way out, Cat slipped her arms under El's body and began trying to move her away from the danger.

Unfortunately for the pair, Billy Hargrove noticed them and grabbed onto El's leg. She screamed as he dragged her out of Cat's arms and back towards the Mind Flayer.

"No!" Cat yelled, reaching her hands out to try and clasp onto El.

Fireworks exploded around them as Catherine ran over, trying to push Billy away from Eleven. "Get off her!" She yelled. "Let her go!" Billy pushed her away, seeming to use no effort. He shoved her down the few steps that were situated just below them and she rolled towards the Mind Flayer. The beast grabbed her and threw her across the mall. Catherine landed with a 'thump' and a 'crack' as her wrist tried to break her fall. She screamed out in pain as she tried to use her telekinesis from afar in order to rid El of Billy.

But nothing happened.

She yelled in frustration and went to pick up a nearby chair, only stopping when she saw how much of a bad shape her wrist was in. It had been twisted in such a bad way during her fall. She could only watch from afar as her younger sister was tormented by the newest king of Hawkins High.

"Dustin!" Steve yelled into the radio, his eyes fixed on his girlfriend trapped in the food court. "We're out of time!"

Catherine could only stare as Billy leaned over El. She could barely make out what was happening but gasped in shock as Billy stood up and faced the monster. She watched as Max and Mike appeared in the entrance to Scoops Ahoy. A scream escaped her lips as one of the tendrils shot out of the Mind Flayers face, she couldn't help but be frozen in terror, the fear that it would kill El consuming her.

But Billy protected her. He shoved his arms out in front of him, grabbing onto the creature before it could hurt the young girl behind him.

She let out a scream, trying to warn Billy as more tendrils moved towards him. She threw her arms out in front of her as she ran, ignoring the pain emitting from her wrist. With a scream she pulled the tendrils away from Billy, breaking them into tiny pieces of flesh. The more she fought off as she ran, the more the Mind Flayer threw at her until it was too much for her to handle and she collapsed to the ground.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she watched the Mind Flayer stab Billy. His body fell to the ground, limp. She watched as Max screamed, racing over to her brother. Catherine forced herself to stand. She forced herself to walk over to her peer, falling to the floor beside him.

"I can save you." She muttered, placing her palms over his chest, where his heart was. "I can save you." She focused the last of her energy on to healing the teen in front of her, picturing in her mind his wounds. She pictured them closing, the bleeding slowing to a stop. She pictured his heart, pictured it beating at a regular pace.

It was working. She only needed a few more second and Billy would be healed.

But, the Mind Flayer caught onto what she was doing, and with a scream, she was tossed to the side. Her body collided with a pillar and another 'crack' sounded as one or two of her ribs were broken. "No!" She screamed. She could have healed Billy. She _was_ healing him. But being unable to finish the process, all her power was undone. Even from where her body was crumpled on the floor, she could see Billy's breath slowing down a considerable amount.

The Mind Flayer began to wraith around, crashing into its surroundings. Flames surrounded it, left over from the fireworks. It let out a final roar before crumpling to the floor.

It was dead.

As soon as it was over, Steve ran down the escalators and across the lower level of the mall towards Catherine. He knelt down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He brushed a soothing hand through her matted hair as she began to sob into his chest.

"I could've saved him." She cried, glancing over to where Max sobbed over Billy's limp body. "I could've saved him."

***

Catherine sat in the back of an ambulance. Nurses and Doctors fussed over wounds, stitching up the large cut on her temple and wrapping her wrist and chest. She stared off in the distance as a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm.

Billy Hargrove was dead.

Thoughts swam through her head and she couldn't get the image of his limp body out of her mind.

He was dead. Because of her. Because she couldn't control her stupid powers. Because she was too weak to save anybody but herself.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she stared into space.

She watched as Joyce appeared, clad head to toe in a stolen Russian military uniform. A sad, small smile formed on her face as the mother was reunited with her youngest. But the smile was wiped away almost as soon as it had arrived. Her eyes began to desperately scan the parking lot, unable to find who she was looking for.

_He can't be gone. He can't be!_

Her suspicions were confirmed when Joyce slowly shook her head at El who fell to the ground in tears. Catherine moved over to where the younger girl sobbed. She fell to the floor next to her, moving the blanket from around her shoulders and wrapping it around El's.

El sobbed into Catherine's shoulder, a pained scream leaving her lips. The two stayed like that until military personnel told them that they had to move.

Neither of the two girls could believe it.

Jim Hopper, El's father and Catherine's father figure, was gone.

***

** A/N: **

_Wow, we're at the end guys. There's just one chapter left. I really hope you guys have_ _enjoyed_ _reading_ _this book as much as_ _I_ _enjoyed writing it._

_Edited: 04/08/2020_


	70. SIXTY FIVE; The Battle of Starcourt

** Three Months Later **

Catherine Henderson threw her body onto the couch, her trainers in hand. She was getting ready for Steve and Robin to pick her up as she was going with them while they applied for a new job. Just as she slipped her left foot into her shoe, a news report started on the T.V. Her ears perked up as the male news reporter began talking about her hometown.

"Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, a wonderful place to grow up, to raise your family, to walk your dog. But then..." Cat rolled her eyes as the news reporter paused dramatically as sirens began wailing. "...on July Fourth, everything changed. A terrible tragedy struck this small town. But this was not this small town's first brush with tragedy. Mysterious deaths, government cover-ups," Catherine's breath caught in her throat as a picture of Barb showed up on the screen, "a bizarre chemical leak. Is it all linked?"

"Duh." Cat mumbled, going back to tying her shoe laces.

"All a vast conspiracy?" The reporter continued. "The fault of a disgraced, corrupt mayor? Or is something more going on in the heartland? Can a town itself be cursed? Some believe a rise in Satanism is to blame."

Catherine turned the television off before the reporter could continue. She couldn't stand the reminder of how her loved ones had died. How she failed at saving Billy Hargrove.

***

Steve's car pulled into a parking space just outside the video store.

"Are you sure you don't want to apply with us?" Robin asked, leaning forward to talk to her best friend who sat unusually quiet in the front seat.

"Uh, yeah... I'm gonna wait a bit..."

Steve looked over at his girlfriend, a sympathetic look gracing his features. He knew about the late nights when she struggled to get to sleep. How she still jumped at loud noises and how she couldn't stop blaming herself for Billy's death. And he had stuck with her the whole way. "Well," he smiled at her as he put the handbrake on, "we will certainly help you look for a job when you feel up to it."

"Thanks." Cat smiled. "Now," she clapped her hands, "let's go get you two a job." She pushed open the door and hopped out, waiting for the others.

"You put your mom down as a reference?" Robin asked, looking at Steve's C.V. She had been going over it on their journey to 'Family Video'.

"Yeah. Why not?" Steve asked, catching up with Cat and lacing his fingers with hers. "She's, like, super well-respected."

"You're such a dingus." Robin muttered, matching her pace with Cat's.

"He may be a dingus," Cat grinned as Steve opened the door for her, holding it open for Robin too, "but you have to admit, he is a gentleman."

Robin shrugged as they approached the counter. The two handed over their resumes while Cat wandered around the store, searching for something to rent. She knew that all the kids were going to need cheering up that evening, after all, it was the day she was dreading most. The Byers were moving away, taking El with them as Joyce was now her legal guardian.

"Uh, just to be clear, we weren't fired, you know." Robin told Keith who was working the till. "The mall burned down and, like, killed a bunch of people."

"Thanks for sharing." Keith said, placing their papers on the counter. "Didn't know. Three favourite movies. Go." He clicked his fingers and pointed at Robin.

"Uh... The Apartment, Hidden Fortress, Children of Paradise." Robin listed.

"You, go." Keith pointed at Steve.

"Favourite movies?"

"Did I stutter?"

Cat struggled to hold in a laugh. She was browsing the section of films closest to the till and couldn't help but overhear the sort-of interview.

"Uh... Animal House, for sure."

Robin scoffed as Cat raised an eyebrow, turning around to look at her boyfriend.

"Um..." Steve looked away and caught Cat's eye, causing her to burst out laughing.

"Eyes on me, Harrington." Keith said, clicking his fingers.

Steve pulled his gaze away from Catherine. "Yeah. Uh... Star Wars."

Cat rolled her eyes. It was only recently that Steve had watched those films after Dustin discovered he'd never seen any of them and threatened to break the couple up unless they sat and watched the whole series with him. Cat had enjoyed them quite a lot.

"A New Hope?" Keith asked.

"A new what-now?"

"He means, which Star Wars are you talking about." Cat informed, walking over and placing her chosen movie on the counter. After much deliberation, she'd chosen The Breakfast Club.

"Oh, the one with the teddy bears. Duh." Steve said, imitating the sound of the fictional creatures.

"You mean, Ewoks?" Cat asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure."

Robin groaned and rested her head on the counter.

"Oh, and the one that movie that just came out. The one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he's trying to bang his mom." Steve chuckled.

"You mean Back To The Future?" Catherine sighed as Keith rang up the video. She slid the money over the counter and shoved the film in her bag.

"Yeah, those are my top three. Classics."

"I'll tell you what a classic is." Cat said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Grease." She grinned.

"You start Monday." Keith said to Robin. He turned to Steve. "You start never."

"Will you just, um... Will you two just give us a minute?" Robin asked her two friends.

"Sure." Catherine smiled at her. "We'll wait by the car." She grabbed Steve's hand and began dragging him out the door. "Come on, Steve. There's other jobs out there. You'll find a really good one, I promise." She smiled, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "And then, eventually, we'll save up enough money for our own place."

Back inside, Robin began an attempt to persuade Keith into giving Steve the job. "All right, you have to understand, Keith, I know his taste is a bit pedestrian, but the dingus has other qualities."

"He's a douchebag of the highest order, Robin."

"He was a bit of a prick to us in high school, I'll grant you that, but he's changed. Though, he remains a total chick magnet."

"Isn't he dating Catherine Henderson now?"

"Yeah."

"How is any of this relevant?"

"Uh, Earth to Keith. The ladies will come in just to see him. Whether or not he's dating Cathy, they'll come in in droves. Droves, Keith. We sold so much ice-cream, they had to get a second shipment in from Michigan. Goddamn Michigan, Keith. And these ladies..." She inhaled sharply. "These ladies are hot. They're so very hot. And Steve can't date any of them, he's too in love with Catherine to do that. So, he'll need assistance, Keith. Your assistance."

"What's in it for you?" Keith asked her. "You got a thing for him or something?"

Robin glanced behind her, looking through the glass doors to where her two friends were perched on the hood of Steve's car. "We're just, um... We're just friends."

***

Steve's car pulled up outside the Byers' after dropping Robin back at her house. Cat had invited her to go to the Byers' house with them but she had declined, saying something about how she didn't know them well enough and would be intruding on their last day in Hawkins with all their friends.

A sad smiled graced Cat's face as she bounded up the steps and through the front door. She sighed as she ran over to Jonathan, who was taping up one of the boxes. "I can't believe you're leaving me."

"I can't believe I'm leaving either." Jonathan said sadly, pulling his shorter friend into a hug.

"You'll keep in touch, right?" Cat asked.

"Only if you keep in touch with me."

Cat scoffed. "Of course I will. We're the two losers of Hawkins High. How could I not?" She pulled away from the hug. "Is there anything I can help with, or am I just here for the sad goodbyes?"

"I'm sure there's a few boxes that still need packing." He shrugged. "If you don't mind helping, that is."

Cat smiled and lifted one of the boxes that had just been taped. "Jesus, that's heavy." She sighed, placing the box back on the floor. "How much stuff do you guys have?" She laughed.

Jonathan shrugged as Steve walked over. The boys exchanged a wave before Jonathan left to go help Nancy move one of the mattresses.

"Need help carrying that?" Steve asked, gesturing to the box that was far too heavy for someone of Catherine's size.

"God, yes." Cat answered, turning around to face her boyfriend. "Why don't you help load the finished boxes into the van and I'll go help pack up the rest?" She suggested, plastering a smile on her face, despite the tears that begun to form in the corner of her eyes.

Steve nodded. "You okay?" He asked her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah." Cat nodded, although her voice didn't sound very convincing. "I'm gonna go see if the others need any help." She passed through into the living room where Max and Lucas were teasing Dustin by singing Never Ending Story. As she looked around the room, she thought back to all the times they'd shared in the space. A tear ran down her face and she was quick to wipe it away as she sat down by Dustin.

"Wait, did we get that verse right?" Max asked, sending a smile over at Catherine as she began to pack things into the boxes. "It's 'unfold behind the clouds'?"

"Yeah, but you're butchering it, so could you please stop?" Dustin asked them, obviously annoyed by their teasing.

"Oh, I think it was brilliant." Cat smiled teasingly, nudging Dustin's shoulder. She picked up one of the boxes, one that was easy for her to lift, and carried it out to the moving van where she handed it to Steve who had begun helping out by loading the truck.

When she re-entered the house, she headed for El's room, desperate to see how she was feeling. Raising her fist, she lightly knocked on the doorway. "Hey." She greeted softly, a small smile gracing her lips. "Need any help?"

El nodded. "There's just a few things left."

Cat moved forward and begun to fold the remaining clothes that El had yet to pack. "How are you doing?" She asked, her voice quiet.

El shrugged.

Catherine put down the clothes and gently pulled the younger girl into her arms. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. And, if you need me, I'm only one phone call away." She softly stroked El's hair. "You have my number, right?"

"Yeah. I have the two numbers you gave me."

"The first one is for the phone at mine and Dustin's house. Okay? The second is Steve's number. In case you call my house and I'm not there."

El nodded pulling away. "I'm going to miss you." She whispered sadly.

"I'm going to miss you, too." Cat whispered, trying her best to not burst into tears right there and then. "I love you, so much." She whispered, pulling the younger girl into another hug.

"I love you, too."

Cat looked over El's shoulder and spotted Mike lingering in the doorway. She gently pulled away from El, placing a quick kiss by her hair line. "I'll leave you two alone." She whispered, patting Mike on the shoulder as she passed him. She walked down the hallway, peering into Will's room to see if there was anything she could do to help him. "Hey." She greeted, smiling at the boy. "Anything I can do?"

Will shrugged, placing a marker on top of one of the few remaining boxes. "Just labelling the last boxes."

Cat nodded slowly, taking in the emptiness of a room once filled with artwork and posters. "Any plans for once you get there?" She asked eventually, her fingers tracing over the wallpaper.

"Not really."

Cat nodded. "Don't tell any of the others, but, you're my favourite original party member." She grinned.

"Isn't that favouritism?" Will asked, chuckling slightly.

Cat shrugged. "Well, you gave me the least amount of trouble whenever I babysat you lot." She grinned. "Guess I've got to find a new bunch of kids to trail around after." She laughed and ruffled his hair. "C'mere." She pulled him into a quick hug.

***

After saying her farewells to Will, Catherine wandered around the house, helping the Byers in anyway that she could. It was when she started saying goodbye to Joyce that she burst into tears. The older woman pulled the short girl into her arms.

"Don't leave." Cat cried, sobbing into Joyce's shirt. "I don't want you to go."

Joyce stroked Catherine's hair softly. "We'll be down for Christmas." She said. "And you're welcome to come to us for Thanksgiving."

The pair hugged for a while longer until Cat pulled away. "I should... probably go help load the van." She mumbled, walking away and wiping the tears from her face. She hated that Joyce was moving away. She was like a second mother to her, just how Hopper had been like another father to her. With the Byers moving out of town, it felt like she was losing her family all over again and her heart broke.

She couldn't bare to lose anyone else, even if was just because they would living further away. It wasn't like they were dying, she had to remind herself, they'd still be able to spend time together over the holidays.

***

The group of friends all gathered by Joyce's car and the moving van filled with all their stuff. It was hard, having to give one last hug to all her friends. First of, Catherine shared a final hug with Jonathan, promising that she'd call him to the next day to see how they were settling in in their new places. Tears ran down her face as she pulled away from Jonathan and pulled Will into her chest, her tears dampening his hair.

She hugged Joyce next, the two sharing a long and final hug before they separated and Catherine pulled El into her arms. The two girls sobbed, not wanting to let the other go.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." Catherine sobbed. "Promise to call me as soon as you get settled in, yeah?"

El nodded. "Yeah."

A small smile weaved its way onto Cat's face as she pulled away slightly and placed her palms on the sides of El's face. "I'm gonna be here, whenever you need me, okay? One call away."

"One call away." El repeated, mirroring the smile on the older girl's face.

"Promise to stay safe?"

"I promise."

The two pulled each other close and held each other until Joyce sadly told them that it was time to go.

"One more thing," Cat whispered before letting El go. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you miss him. I miss him, too. A lot. But he's always going to be here." She gently pointed to her chest, where her heart lay and then to El's.

El solemnly nodded and wrapped her arms around the older girl's waist, surprising her. Cat wrapped her arms around El and they stood like that for a few moments before El unwillingly let go and moved over to the van.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she stood with the others, Nancy and Steve either side of her. Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Cat watched sadly as her second family drove away, leaving Hawkins behind them. She laced her fingers with Nancy's and gave the girl's hand a comforting squeeze. They stood there until the could no longer see the moving van or Jonathan's car.

"Hey, how about a movie night at mine later?" Catherine suggested, breaking the sad silence. "I just rented The Breakfast Club."

"That sounds great." Nancy said, smiling a sad smile.

The others nodded slowly, still feeling low from losing two of their closest friends.

"Sounds like a plan." Steve smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

***

**A/N:**

_I'm_ _so sad that this book is now over. I really appreciate everyone_ _who's_ _read it this far, and_ _I_ _cant wait to come back to Cat and her story once we get Season 4._

_I also want to know what Hogwarts house you would place Cat in? And why? Personally_ _I_ _feel she could be a Hufflepuff, but_ _that's_ _just my opinion and_ _I_ _would love to know yours._

_Edited: 04/08/2020_


End file.
